Sinn Féin Ministerial team will continue to give leadership and act in the public interest - Kearney

» Declan Kearney

"We need to do what’s right north and south, regardless to party or community differences. Be decisive. Be resolute. Be united. Let’s act now and give leadership" Declan Kearney MLA

Ireland is about to enter potentially the most dangerous, lethal and contagious phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

New modelling for the north of Ireland projects a death rate of up to 3,000 with a peak period between 6 and 20 April. 

On that basis we will all be directly or indirectly affected by Covid-19.

Everyone is understandably frightened.

We are all physically isolated from many of our nearest and dearest.

The elderly and most vulnerable are having to endure extreme and abnormal forms of isolation. 

Already two constituents and family friends of mine have been admitted to the intensive care unit in Antrim hospital. Both Niall and Gerard are GAA stalwarts in County Antrim and are very sick: I wish them both a swift and full recovery.

Last Thursday, Coronavirus prevented other family friends from burying Denise in the normal way, with the physical and emotional comforts we all need and rely upon at times of great grief.

My comrade Seán Lynch told me on Sunday how he had to pay his last respects to his father James, who died earlier the same day, through a bed room window.

The virus is thundering silently and invisibly across the world like a juggernaut, confronting us all with the reality of our individual and collective mortality, and confirming that there are indeed unknowns beyond our global, scientific knowledge base. 

It will be devastating for the poor, the impoverished and exploited of capitalist and underdeveloped countries across the northern and southern hemispheres.

In Palestine, the Israeli and Egyptian governments continue to maintain a blockade on Gaza, the most densely populated area in the world.

The Palestinian Authority has expressed deep alarm at the real threat to the health of over 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners detained in Israeli jails because of a Covid-19 outbreak among prison warders. 

While international economic and financial sanctions are still being imposed by the US against Cuba, which has shown such inspirational practical international solidarity, and other countries, the newly appointed UN rapporteur on human rights, Alena Douhan, has called for all unilateral sanctions to be lifted which obstruct the humanitarian response of sanctioned states, in order to help their health services to fight Covid-19 and to save lives.

Coronavirus has disrupted all our social & relational norms.

Its economic and social consequences will be far reaching. Current economic forecasts are now predicting deep economic recessions across the world.

What we face must not be allowed to become our new ‘normal’. 

People, life and wellbeing are too important.

Solidarity is precious. It does not have a price tag. 

Since this emergency began, the Sinn Féin ministerial team in the north have remained continuously within their departments: Leaving home early and returning late, in order to ensure our combined power sharing government and societal fight back against Covid-19 is the best it can be.

We have been at Stormont in Belfast, and anywhere else required, to advance that agenda.

And, yes, in recent weeks our ministerial team has been challenging and robust on the need for a resilient strategy to protect public health.

We have indeed pressed for a common all-island approach: We cannot collectively and effectively tackle the pandemic otherwise. 

Sinn Féin ministers have been doing their duty without fear or favour, and, make no mistake, we will continue to discharge our responsibilities seriously.

Aggressive community transmission will not stop at Lifford or Strabane. The pandemic does not respect borders, it does not differentiate between unionists or republicans; or British and Irish.

Sinn Féin’s only focus has been, and remains the saving of lives; and, to give leadership on that basis.

Our approach has been informed by best international guidance and practice as provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Nothing else should take away from the overriding objective of saving lives.

Of course, everything will need to be reconsidered on the other side of Coronavirus, but for now differences on economic, social, political, or constitutional issues must be subordinated to how we ensure society in the north, our island community, and global village overcome this health emergency. 

There have indeed been significant differences in the north over how to combat Covid-19 in terms of when to close schools, the need for community testing and tracing, procurement of personal protective equipment, closure of businesses, and implementing safe distancing in the work place. 

That stems from the fact there are five parties represented in the power sharing government which have different ideological perspectives on the management of public services and how society should look after its citizens. 

But we need to be acting with urgency and speed at this time. Government has to do the right thing.

In the absence of consensus, that means asking probing questions, and seeking radical interventions.

There is no handbook to manage this health emergency, but there is now established international experience.

We must learn from and apply that experience.

The WHO has advised that the world needs access to China’s experience in responding to Covid-19.

Beijing has a population of 22 million. When the first cases were confirmed there, radical measures were invoked, making use of population lock down, universal temperature testing, the wearing of face masks, and hand washing.

 As a result, and to date, there have only been eight deaths in Beijing and a total of 585 confirmed cases, according to the Beijinger Magazine. 

The WHO further reported that within a 14-day period China successfully reduced the ratio of newly confirmed cases from 2478 to 409 per day. 

It said that the Chinese government has adopted a truly all of government/all of society approach, which has been uncompromising in its approach to enhance the reach of case detection, isolation and early treatment.

Similar urgent and swift community testing and lock down action has been taken by the government in Cuba.

In recent weeks, when eight cases were confirmed in the Carmelo neighbourhood within the Plaza de Revolucion municipality of Havana, the government acted decisively.

Carmelo is an area of 1.2 km with a population of 27,000. However, when these eight cases were detected, the Department of Health locked down and isolated this entire neighbourhood. It then carried out 100% community testing of the whole population. An intensified public health focus was also introduced to Carmelo by the government.

Progress is now being made in the north against spread of the virus. But I believe we need to be going even further. 

None of our people should become collateral damage as a result of our regional approach being fettered by a flawed British government policy, overseen by Tory ideologues. They will have to account at a later date for their inaction and slowness.

We must be prepared to do whatever is required and that means maximum cooperation and coordination on decisions across the land mass of Ireland.

No options should be discounted.

A radical expansion of community wide testing and contact tracing needs taken beyond frontline workers.

That is key to isolating concentrations of infection.

The corollary to that must be the use of targeted and also comprehensive lock down measures if necessary, modelled on the Chinese and Cuban approaches, to keep the healthy separated from the sick, and ensuring that the proper medical care is given to those infected.

Ultimately, when Covid-19 passes, let none of us as politicians, physicians, journalists, civil servants, or others look back and reflect on whether there were questions we should have asked, or more that we could have done to save lives. 

I’m clear about how Sinn Féin needs to respond when such questions are posed. 

Our people need to be put first.

We are a five-party coalition and naturally there will be a diversity of views.

The Assembly is a devolved administration.  

We can be handcuffed to nobody. 

Our emphasis must be on a regional approach which responds to our circumstances. 

While we have two jurisdictions, we are one island and this means we need common action to combat this deadly virus. 

We need to do what’s right north and south, regardless to party or community differences.

Be decisive. Be resolute. Be united.

Let’s act now and give leadership.