“A gust of wind in the wrong direction and we’re in real trouble.”Was the increase in cases this week really evidence of the beginning of another wave of Covid-19? Or was it a blip seized upon in order to put the frighteners on people and shore up declining compliance with public health advice? The wider issue is why Ireland is stuck at about 500 cases every day, months into a third lockdown and despite the rollout of vaccines. Progress on case number has been slowing for weeks now, and the reproduction number, the number of infections linked to each confirmed case, is hovering just below 1. “There are almost no supports put into investigating the chains of transmission” of the disease, public health doctor Dr Ina Kelly told RTÉ’s PrimeTime this week.

Source: The Irish Times March 12, 2021 16:00 UTC