Army on alert and panic buying under way

A virus that started in China in December has now – ten weeks into the new year – turned life as we know it upside down.

A series of dramatic announcements made today, Thursday March 12, have dictated how our lives will be lived between now and March 29 at least. And we’ve never seen anything like it before.

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday described Corvid-19 as a pandemic, and for people in Westmeath, the disease became a reality when it emerged that a staff member at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar had been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Panic buying

Some shoppers have already been stockpiling food for weeks – but since today’s announcement, supermarkets in Mullingar have been full of people buying up food and supplies. There have been long queues into some stores, and many of the shelves are bare.

So what changes are ahead?

This morning at11.25, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that all schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings, are to be closed to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Cultural institutions will close as well.

He said that all indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled.

His recommendation to workers was that they should continue to go to work if they can, but that where possible they should work from home.

In order to reduce unnecessary face to face interaction in the workplace, break times and work times should be staggered.

The new measures kick in from this evening.

Army on alert

The Defence Forces has confirmed that all its personnel have been put on alert.

Soldiers in Custume Barracks were believed yesterday to have been notified to be prepared from Monday for immediate deployment.

In a statement today, the Defence Forces has confirmed that it has “notified our personnel of the impending change to our force posture and all non-essential activities have been suspended.

It's believed to be the first time since the Foot and Mouth crisis that the Defence Forces has issued this order.

“Our focus now is to maximise our preparedness to respond to requests for assistance from the Civil Authorities.

“Protecting our personnel is our priority and is key to maintaining our capability to provide support to communities and civil authorities, when requested.

“For operational security reasons, we will not comment on specific dispositions of troops or on internal unit procedures at this time,” the statement concluded.

Department of Education and Skills

The Department of Education and Skills has said that all pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other.

In order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning, all schools are being asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools are equipped to do so. Schools are asked to be conscious of students that may not have access to online facilities and to consider this actively in their response.

Schools are asked to prioritise supporting exam classes to continue to prepare for State examinations.

Minister Joe McHugh said that at this point in time the closure is planned for two weeks, from tomorrow until 29 March.

“The Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to that date will be communicated widely.”

GAA

A blanket suspension from midnight tonight “of all activity” at club, county and educational levels has been announced by the GAA, An Cumann Camógaíochta and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.

The suspension is in place until March 29 (inclusive).

“This is to include all games, training and team gatherings at all ages and all grades,” a statement issued on behalf of the three bodies stated.

It went on to declare that the organisations would continue to liaise with Government officials and review the situation between now and the end of the month, assessing the impact of these measures on our competitions.

“In the meantime, the Association is encouraging all members to continue to follow the guidelines which have been provided by the Health Authorities.”

Church

The church authorities are understood to be working on a strategy in view of the restrictions on gatherings of more than 100 people in interior settings.

Yesterday, the Catholic Bishops issued guidacne, an an update on that is expected this afternoon.

yesterday’s statement said that those with underlying conditions and those who are considered vulnerable are dispensed from their Sunday obligation to attend Sunday Masses, but it suggested that where possible they should avail of parish radio broadcasts and webcam.  

While in church and as far as possible people are asked to keep a safe distance from one another, in keeping with current advice.