With or without vaccines to help prevent serious illness, the Covid-19 virus, mutations, variants and other as yet unknown viruses will circulate in the population as long as people interact to the extent that the transmission rate ‘R’ remains
above one.
Successive ‘lockdown’ restrictions have shown that R can be reduced to below one, but complacency and easing of restrictions have allowed R to rise again. A simple arithmetical calculation shows that if R can be reduced to say 0.5 and be maintained at that level, and strict quarantine measures be enacted and maintained at external borders, the number of contagious cases would be reduced to 1 per cent of the current number in seven cycles of infection and to 0.1 per cent in 10 cycles – seven weeks and 10 weeks if an infection cycle lasts for a week.
We have already endured more than 10 weeks of on-off lockdowns, but the inconvenience has been squandered by the lack of consistency, for no lasting benefit. Needlessly, hundreds of people have died, businesses have been ruined, and jobs have been lost. Billions of pounds and Euro have been spent by the UK and RoI governments in haphazard support of some businesses and individuals since the pandemic emerged. For just a few weeks of sustained inconvenience, a fraction of that amount would have supported:
A) Quarantine measures at the air and sea borders for incoming personal movement. No movement beyond the border until the quarantine measures and period had been completed.
B) A complete stoppage of all activities and businesses involving close physical proximity. Exceptions being the production and distribution of essential food items; the supply of water, electricity, gas and fuel; sanitation services; hospital and medical services.
C) Support for people as individuals rather than for businesses.
Covid-19 would have been almost eliminated from the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and hundreds of lives saved. While keeping the border quarantine measures in place, the other restrictions could then have been relaxed.
Vaccines, while necessary and welcome, are a distraction from a more efficient, effective and economic course of action. Will the two governments now belatedly do what was obviously necessary at the start of the pandemic almost a year ago?
DENNIS GOLDEN
Strabane, Co Tyrone
Abortion should not be ignored by any Church leader with a conscience
The Irish News (January 12) reports: “The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has begun legal action in the High Court, saying that many women are forced to continue to travel to the Republic or Britain to access services.” The story goes on to quote chief commissioner Les Allamby, who alleged: “We are deeply disappointed that we are yet again having to take legal action. Our focus is to ensure that human rights are upheld and the law passed in Westminster is implemented in practice. We must never forget this is about a critical health service for women.”
At a time when the NHS is overwhelmed by the greatest crisis in its history, with many critical care staff on their knees with exhaustion, it seems odd that the taxpayer-funded NIHCR are launching a legal challenge around abortion access rights. The Catholic Church deserves the highest credit for its sustained and vocal witness against the abortion industry. It is a great pity that my own denomination, the Church of Ireland, has not always shown the same courage and determination. Some bible-bashing Protestant bishops, of a fundamentalist ilk, seem utterly obsessed with gender and identity issues. Abortion should not be ignored by any Church leader with a conscience.
The God we worship promises to protect the weak and vulnerable and we are all called to show that same mercy to the unborn.
Jesus expresses the mercy of God saying: “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.”
TJ HARDY
Belfast BT5
Contentious request by health minister
The decision by Robin Swann to engage the British Army in care in hospitals across the north is not one with which Aontú can be supportive. The crisis in our hospitals due to Covid-19 and waiting lists across the service are as a result of the lack of investment by the executive in relation to beds and specialist care.
The British Army will not been viewed by many of the people I represent as being concerned with medical care. The idea will go down like a tonne of bricks in many nationalist and republican areas. It would be more appropriate for the Department of Health to commission the services of other trained medics such as the Order of Malta or St John’s Ambulance or the Red Cross who have the full support of the community.
I am frustrated that the minister unilaterally issued this move given the contentious nature of the request. Having British soldiers operating in hospitals such as Altnagelvin is wrong, especially given we are approaching a period of remembrance for those who were killed by their predecessors.
Cllr EMMET DOYLE
Aontú, Derry
Matter of conscience for Joe Biden
Fr McCafferty (January 7) questions whether President Biden should receive the sacraments in the Catholic Church due to his support for abortion. I ask where does conscience come into this debate? Is conscience subservient in all matters to Church doctrine?
The 5th commandment states clearly ‘Thou shalt not kill’. I presume meaning human beings shall not kill other human beings; I read it like that anyway. Yet, I believe that the Catholic Church places certain conditions where one may kill another – they being in a just war, in a lawful execution or in self-defence. Now all of these are open to many interpretations. I can see the Church giving direction, opinion, yet the Church goes further, it defines ‘just’, ‘lawful’. Then it sets itself against those who breach their definition – in this country excommunicated people, not the members of the security forces as I recall.
So, I ask again, conscience or doctrine? As for abortion, is one being sinful when one has views when advising a pregnant victim of rape or incest? Abortion is a conscience wrenching issue. Given that the Church is well able to create ‘exceptions to the rule’ can there be a more humane approach to this than knocking out scriptured quotations?
MANUS McDAID
Derry City
