Dr. Tony Holohan:

I would like to thank the Chairman and the members of the committee for the invitation to appear today. I want to wish the committee well with the important work it is undertaking on behalf of the Oireachtas. The committee has indicated that its members wish to focus on three specific issues today. I am happy to offer a full briefing at any stage on the response to this whole pandemic on behalf of the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, as I believe such an understanding will be critical to supporting the committee in its work.

I welcome the opportunity to explain our response. Maintaining open, clear communications with the public has been a central tenet of the health service's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to this end we have held 52 press conferences to date, among other things. Since Covid-19 emerged in China in December 2019, it has spread widely and rapidly around the world, as members have heard. As of today there have been more than 4.5 million cases worldwide, with 24,200 of these in Ireland. Sadly, 1,547 people in Ireland have lost their lives. We are acutely conscious of the grief that people have experienced over the past three months. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones.

We first heard reports of a novel coronavirus infection during the second week in January. Immediately, senior public health people in this country began to confer, monitor and collaborate with colleagues internationally. It became clear from an early stage that this would become a significant challenge for the world. It is equally true that the world's experience with this virus is still unfolding, with tragic consequences for many countries, irrespective of levels of preparedness, wealth or development.

While we had high levels of preparedness arising from our experience with pandemic influenza and other public health challenges, it was quickly clear to us that this virus was very different. The ease of its transmission and its severity, particularly for those who are vulnerable, combined with the fact that there is no natural immunity to this virus, no medicines available for its specific treatment and no vaccines, has presented an unprecedented global public health challenge.

To that end, on 30 January the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern. The NPHET, which has been at the centre of our public health response, held its first meeting on 27 January 2020 and has held 31 meetings to date. Its role has been to provide clear advice to members of the public on how to protect themselves, their families and their communities, and when necessary to provide advice to the Government through the Minister for Health regarding wider societal public health measures.

By the middle of March it became evident that unprecedented action was needed to prevent the spread of infection, high rates of hospitalisation and intensive care unit admissions and significant mortality. Our collective actions have suppressed this infection, protected the health of people in this country and undoubtedly saved lives.

The cornerstone of the response in this country has been based on a public health evaluation of risk and public health-informed recommendations to Government as to what measures can be taken at each point to minimise the impact of this disease.

However, there is no certainty that we can keep this virus suppressed. The advice of NPHET is that we now ease restrictions in a phased risk-based manner, while maintaining close vigilance of the spread and impact of this virus to ensure that we can safely recommence work, social engagement, education and the day-to-day operation of the health service.

NPHET will continue to advise the Government, through the Minister for Health, to ensure that the decisions the Government takes are informed by public health considerations, while recognising that the Government will also need to take into account wider economic, social and other considerations as part of the phased unwinding of restrictions.