Longford Leader Editorial: We need expertise instead of politicking

As most of the details had been reported over the course of the previous days, there were no surprises.

The so-called wet pubs in Dublin will not be opening on September 21, a huge blow to the sector in the city, but also a nod to the fact that Dublin has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases with over 1,000 confirmed in the past fortnight.

At the moment, the entire country remains at Level 2 status but higher levels will be used to deal with greater incidences of the disease as the weeks and months progress.

We are at a critical period in this pandemic. Six months after the initial lockdown and lives have been changed utterly. Over 1,700 lives have been lost. But a weariness has set in, a sense of exhaustion is taking over, and the government is facing an uphill battle to convince people to stay on track for the greater good.

But increasingly, the government is the focus of a lot of anger and frustration and the internal wranglings of the three party coalition, especially Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, aren’t helping matters.

It was stated last week that daily NPHET briefings are scaring people. The Acting Chief Medical Officer outlining the facts of the day is a lot less scary than spending three weeks on a ventilator. Or worse.

Just two days ago, the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he was optimistic that Ireland could begin vaccinating against Covid in early 2021. The Dept of Health quickly dismissed this statement.

If politicians really want to keep the public “on message”, they are going to have to adopt an approach that is a bit alien to them.

Step back and let someone else do the talking.

It is time for the politicians, even those with medical backgrounds, to accept that people have more faith in the experts.

The renewed respect for knowledge and expertise has been one of the few silver linings of this crisis so let's keep the experts to the forefront.

Let us hear the daily figures every day, for now, to ensure that Covid remains foremost in the public mind every time one of us steps out the door.

Let's treat the public with respect by giving them as much information as possible, not less. There is a time and a place of politicking - and it's not now.