A new strain of COVID-19 that reached Ireland from the United Kingdom is spreading faster than the country’s most pessimistic forecasts, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Wednesday.
“While international research for this new variant is ongoing, it is already very clear that we are dealing with a strain of the disease that spreads much, much more quickly,” Martin said in a televised address announcing a tightening of public-health restrictions for the next four weeks.
“It is spreading at a rate that has surpassed the most pessimistic models available to us,” Martin said.
The prime minister ordered nonessential retailers to be closed and extended the travel ban on arrivals from the UK and South Africa until January 6.
Bernie Waterhouse (R) is administered the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the first healthcare worker to receive it in Ireland, at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, 29 December 2020. Ireland began its vaccination programme on 29 December. EPA-EFE/MARC O’SULLIVAN / POOL Main Photo: Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin EPA-EFE/JOHN THYS / POOL
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