Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That it has less virulence than other variants means is causing less serious illness. That creates a new difficulty for us in that we cannot justify the economic restrictions we had for a virus that is not translating into very serious illness, mortality or admissions into hospitals and particularly intensive care units. I acknowledge it is causing considerable disruption across society, particularly in the healthcare environment because if someone arrives in hospital with a different ailment and it transpires they have Covid, they need to be isolated which creates pressure on capacity. I do not have time to go through it all.

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