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Micheál Martin says more information about cases should be released to the public. Leah Farrell

Names of towns and regions where Covid-19 clusters are should be released, says Martin

Martin said it might change public behaviour if people know their areas have been affected.

FIANNA FÁIL LEADER Micheál Martin has said the names and regions where clusters of Covid-19 cases have been diagnosed should be made public. 

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is this afternoon meeting with party leaders at Government Buildings to brief them on the ongoing coronavirus emergency measures.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Martin said that he would be calling on the Taoiseach to give more information about the towns and regions where cases have been confirmed. 

“I think it would help awareness but also I think it would help people protect and take steps to be careful… look at Singapore, Taiwan and other countries, they have been doing this consistently and people in those countries welcome it and it doesn’t cause any stigma but it allows people be more aware and take more self-protection,” he said. 

Every day, the Department of Health and the HSE release the national figures.

Yesterday evening the fourth death from Covid-19 was confirmed in Ireland. A further 121 people were confirmed to have contracted coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the Republic to 906. 

Recently, a county-by-county breakdown has been provided. 

However, Martin said today more detailed information on cases diagnosed would create more self-awareness. He said if people knew there were clusters in a certain town or region, people might be more aware of their actions, and act differently by perhaps avoiding a local beach or park. 

He said this information should be released on a daily basis. 

“It would create a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’,” he said, highlighting that there’s been some criticism over the weekend about how some people are carrying on as normal and not physically distancing themselves from other people. 

He said there is a lot of fear and “scare-mongering” going on in certain areas around the country as people speculate about where cases have been diagnosed. 

By releasing more factual information about what towns and regions have been affected in each county, “it could change behavior in a good way, because people would be a bit more conscious of the situation in their locality. And they would behave accordingly. And I think that’s important. Also in terms of staff in a given institution, in terms of people who are visiting that institution. They need to know. They need to be aware of the scale of something or not,” said Martin.

The Fianna Fáil leader said that highlighting areas where clusters occur may result in more restrictions being imposed on a certain area or town, as has been the case in some other places around the world, such as New Rochelle in New York State, where the National Guard was deployed a number of weeks ago due to the high number of cases recorded in the area. 

Martin said more “severe restrictions” are needed, though he added that the majority are adhering to the guidelines. 

3169 Covid 19 Mary Lou McDonald speaks to reporters at Leinster House today where social distancing is observed. Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

A similar call was made by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald who today called for all non-essential businesses to be shut down immediately. She said some workers were very concerned about their workplace practices and the lack of protections being afforded to employees. 

She said it is “not plausible” for some workers to practice safe distancing in some jobs, stating that she had a call from one construction worker who is on site with 400 people, and there is only one tap available with hot water. 

“Delays cost lives,” she said, adding such a move would lead to more job losses. McDonald said that supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies, public services and emergency services should stay open.

She said restaurants should close, but added that those providing take-out or delivery services could remain open if they can adhere to the HSE guidelines. 

When asked about government formation today, Martin said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will swap papers later this week and hold further talks.

Martin said that he could not state when a new government would be up and running, stating that the focus is quite rightly on the coronavirus outbreak. 

He would not be pressed on the matter of whether Leo Varadkar, Simon Harris and Simon Coveney might remain in their roles when a new government is eventually formed. He said he would be entering those discussions this week, but said there was a “clear understanding how that would develop”, but gave no further detail.

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    Mute Not_Rod_Ten©
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:06 PM

    All those dinosaurs will have died for nothing if the electric car wins

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    Mute M
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:12 PM

    Ok explain.

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    Mute Not_Rod_Ten©
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:19 PM

    The self sacrifice of those great extinct animals and plants will be in vain if I can’t use them to power my V8

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    Mute George Salter
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    Jan 5th 2016, 1:06 PM

    Off by a couple of hundred million years. Good effort though…

    5
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    Mute new phone who dis?
    Favourite new phone who dis?
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    Jan 5th 2016, 11:56 AM

    This is how far technology has come yet I still can’t get a text back…

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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:12 PM

    2018….. Consumers being warned about Chinese cars catching fire while charging.

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    Mute Cathal McDonald
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    Jan 5th 2016, 11:56 AM

    It looks shite

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    Mute GameOverMan
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:47 PM

    Another totally impractical space-age design that we’ll never see on the roads. Why do we keep dreaming up this kind of car? Surely by now we know that the futuristic look is just a sci-fi fantasy.

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    Mute John Collins
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:46 PM

    Looks rubbish. Old cars are way better.

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    Mute Edward Cullen
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    Jan 5th 2016, 1:51 PM

    Nothing in the article about power or weight.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:56 PM

    Oh yeah this car will be a runaway success definitely. It’ll be up there with the DeLorean in no time at all. Wow I cant wait to buy one it looks so practical and cool and everyone is gonna want one. This is definitely a red letter day in motoring history… zzzzzz

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    Mute bacoxy
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:02 PM

    Faraday so close!

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    Mute Wilson I'mSorry
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:45 PM

    A hidden front for VW perhaps

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    Mute Gary
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:36 PM

    We have Faraday future and Tesla electric, will it be Volta or Maxwell next, or maybe Ampere, Gauss, Coulomb or Davy.

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    Mute dowthebow
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:51 PM

    Already have the volt, mitsi I think

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    Mute Uncle Denise
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:10 PM

    That tail looks great on the car

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    Mute Mark Sheridan
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    Jan 5th 2016, 12:58 PM

    There show casing things that they will use on there everyday cars when production starts. I think the phone in the steering wheel is a very simple but great idea. Some cars these days are like a cockpit of an airplane with that many buttons, climate control, Music system’s, GPS and god knows what else. Most of which is already on a smartphone in one way or another and usually people with them know how to use them.

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    Mute reece plunkett
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    Jan 6th 2016, 3:08 AM

    Good luck getting that over the ramps in ireland

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    Mute Colm O'Leary
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    Jan 5th 2016, 4:13 PM

    I’m just waiting for the apple i-car to be released.

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