We’ll have to get used to living with Covid threat
We should first acknowledge a simple truth – this coronavirus will not be beaten in the short term. Until a vaccine is found, Covid-19 will remain with us, and furthermore, it is very likely we will have a second wave.
Not just here but globally. There have been over 20 million cases recorded around the world with 750,000 deaths – and it is certain that number is underestimated.
Given that it is asymptomatic in younger people, given the lack of testing in poorer countries, given the lack of most things in the poorest countries, you can take it the number if much higher. How much higher?
As we have seen in the last few weeks, just when we thought it was safe to go back into the water, the virus emerged again from the deep. This time it has been a number of new post-lockdown factors such as house parties in Killarney, people coming in from so-called ‘red list’ countries (where infection rates are high).
And then we have seen two potential vectors which have always been high risk returning with a vengeance. After a month with a single case in meat processing plants, we have four really serious outbreaks in the past number of weeks.
Meat processing is highly intensive and involves people working with raw product working in very close proximity to each other.
A complicating factor here is that some of the people working in meat processing factories are asylum seekers. Many are living in direct provision centres in other words cheek by jowl.
No wonder the numbers have spiked and there was such a massive concern about community spillover.
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