Dr. Ronan Glynn:

I thank the Deputy. Her key question is whether we are on the cusp of a second wave. I hope we are not but there is no doubt we have seen a deteriorating situation over the past couple of months, if we are being honest, since the start of July. It is no surprise that we have seen more cases as we have eased restrictions and that we have seen a greater proportion and a greater number of cases in younger people. All of that is normal and I will take this opportunity to counter the narrative of blame that has been taken up around younger people. Younger people go out to work. They run our health service and our education service. They keep society going and so they come into contact with other people. By the nature of their lives, we will see more cases in younger people.

That said, we have grown increasingly concerned, overall, at the number of cases we are seeing. That led to the recommendation of the additional measures last week for the country. I know there has been some confusion around those measures but, at its heart, we are asking people to cut down their discretionary social contacts. We understand that is difficult for people but if we do not cut down the number of people that each of us comes into contact with, there is no doubt but that, unfortunately, the number of cases will continue to rise. If the number of cases continues to rise, it will inevitably lead to more cases in older people and those who are medically vulnerable. They have to be our central focus in this. All over Europe we are seeing an increase in cases. So far, all over Europe we are seeing an increase in cases in younger people without a concomitant increase in hospitalisations in ICU but there is no guarantee that will continue. If our number of cases continues to rise, we would be concerned about the impact that will have in terms of hospitalisation, admissions to critical care and mortality.

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