Professor Sam McConkey, an infectious diseases expert, said: “This is going to impact on every government department and every private industry and every citizen here in a radical way.”The Health Protection Surveillance Centre said last night the new cases are a female in the east of the country and a man in the south of the country which is associated with the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork.
“The most important way they can do this is by following public health advice. Central to this are the protective measures we can all take against Covid-19.” Speaking on RTE’s This Week, Prof McConkey added: “Not just on our health service, I think this is a transformation over society. “Coronavirus will have an effect everywhere. This is going to impact on every Government department and every private industry and every citizen here in a very radical way.
She said: “In light of growing concerns about travel in and out of the country from heavily affected areas, the holding of mass gatherings –including St. Patrick’s Day parades, the capacity of our health service and protecting the incomes of those who have to self-isolate, I am calling on the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to convene an immediate meeting with party leaders regarding the coronavirus.
The HSE has said it can’t dispute projections that as many as 1.9 million people could fall ill with the coronavirus.