Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I again wish to place on record my absolute appreciation and admiration for the work of the HSE and all our health staff and ambulance service personnel right around the country. They are fantastic. We have beaten this virus once and if we all follow the rules, we will beat it again.

I have two questions, one of which is about County Louth. I want to stress that it just so happens that there is a higher incidence of the virus in the north of the county at the moment than in the south. Therefore, the question of closing down the whole county is one of concern. This could apply in the context of any county. Can the HSE look at areas smaller than county areas if it is necessary to move to level 3? I understand that nobody wants to go there or to recommended it, least of all the HSE. Can the executive look at smaller populations other than those of entire counties?

My second question relates to the positivity index or number. Yesterday, this stood at 2.9%. I have been reading and I am contrasting what is happening. I understand that the positivity number is actually going up. If one looks at what is happening in New York, the number stands at 1.58%. The Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, was quoted as saying that if it goes above 2.8% today, it would make him nervous. At 3% or above on a seven-day rolling average in the state of New York, he will automatically shut down all the schools. Can the witnesses comment on how it might apply to Ireland in a practical way? Those are the issues I wish to raise.