Dr. David Nabarro:

I am delighted to join the committee today. I have followed closely what has been happening in Ireland with regard to Covid-19. To have this moment of interaction with legislators to discuss the response to this issue is a total privilege.

The situation regarding the virus internationally is disturbing. The number of cases being reported continues to increase in an exponential way. We know that these case numbers are an underestimate because testing is not widely available in poor countries. I am saying to people that, by and large, the Covid-19 pandemic is actually in its early stages. I believe we are going to continue to see this virus as a threat to all of humanity for the foreseeable future. I also say that more and more we are seeing this as a disease that has particularly bad implications for poor people in poor countries. I am watching very carefully what is happening in south Asia. Covid outbreaks within dense, urban communities, for example in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in India, and in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries in the region, seem to be particularly intense and hard to control despite strenuous efforts by the governments in applying lockdown. We had hoped the virus would not cause such severe difficulties in Africa but the trouble is that we do not fully know because data on the numbers of cases, sickness and fatalities are a bit patchy. Despite really strenuous efforts by the Government in South Africa the disease is taking root in Western Cape and will probably move to other urban areas. It is also a challenge in Nigeria, Algeria, Mali, Egypt and more. Within the Middle East it is challenging particularly in foreign worker dormitories and other places where poor people are gathered together and kept in conditions that are very intense, with limited opportunity for ventilation and in very tightly packed living quarters. It is the same in the slums and favelas of Latin America. In summary, this is a global challenge and it is advancing. The difficulties that poor countries are facing in getting on top of it are very much a reflection of their weaker health systems. In western Europe, the United States of America and Canada, the two parts of the world with a particular responsibility, we are seeing welcome signs that nations are getting on top of Covid-19 and are beginning to work out how to move forward living with the virus as a continuous threat. There are still areas of particular concern such as in residential care for older people and the situations in prisons.

It seems that in certain kinds of industrial processes, particularly the processing of meat and fish, the conditions for transfer of the virus are particularly serious. In dealing with what is a global issue and at the same time focusing on the particular challenges faced by Ireland and western Europe, it is my view that we have seen a shift from a situation where we were dealing collectively with an acute outbreak to a situation where the virus is now a constant presence and threat with which we will all have to learn to live. We are doing so. Ireland has done really well in that regard. I look forward to focusing with the committee on the issues now and moving forward.