Sir, – In this unprecedented crisis where governments worldwide are at a loss to know what to do, our Government will do many things right. But it will surely also, as we will only see with the luxury of hindsight, get many things wrong. Under the circumstances that is entirely natural. But right now, my overriding sense is that the Government is doing its level best with integrity, transparency and efficiency. I thank these people and their officials for that and for their tireless service to us. Perhaps that is all we have ever wanted from our politicians, that they do their best. And when they do, the outcomes serve us all. – Yours, etc,
PATRICIA MULKEEN,
Ballinfull,
Sligo.
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Sir, – During these extraordinary times it is easy to forget that our Government Ministers are family people. They have wives, husbands and children at home having the same struggles as the rest of us. We need to take a moment to thank them all – and their families – for all their support during these difficult times. – Yours, etc,
LAURA O’MARA,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – That feeling one experiences upon waking each day, the one that tells you that somehow we humans have broken our world, might just be an indicator of how we might feel if we were to exist in a grim future where we had permanently damaged our environment. There is a lesson here for governments, polluters and public alike alike. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’MAHONY,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – With a population of over 10 million, it has been a minor miracle that only two people have died from the corona virus outbreak in Seoul.
Seoul carried out a transparent information campaign from the beginning and began high-volume testing. It tested up to 20,000 each day. It quickly tracked down those diagnosed with the virus and informed the public, which led to early detection, minimised further spread of the virus, and hastened treatment of those infected.
The public was immediately informed of the whereabouts of each infected person through automated text messages. The city authorities disinfected the contaminated spaces and effectively quarantined and treated the infected individuals. The extremely low mortality rate is due to these measures adopted by the health authorities in this mammoth city.
As of Monday, South Korea has tested 270,000 people, discovered 8,236 infected individuals, and has had only 75 fatalities. – Yours, etc,
NOEL MACKEY,
Namyangju City,
Geonggi-do,
South Korea.
Sir, – I have been astonished that the dubious fashion for selling bread and cakes unwrapped in open baskets continues at the time of this public health emergency.
Local supermarkets have bread and cakes which are not wrapped and are ready to be coughed upon or touched by people who have the virus. I raised this with the baker in one of the shops and he agreed with me but said that customers would not buy the bread if it was wrapped!
It seems as though foodie fashion is winning out over common sense. – Yours, etc,
JANE JENNINGS,
Courtmacsherry,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Special mention must be given to the following headline: “With self-serving spin, Trump washes his hands of responsibility” (World News, March 16th).
We all need some humour in these unprecedented times. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN O’HARA,
Carrowmore,
Sligo.
Sir, – Yesterday a charming chap from ESB came to read my meter. Curious, I asked him how many meters he read in a day. “Maybe a hundred?”
One chap, going house to house, a hundred times per day, charm notwithstanding, seems pretty daft. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL FREEMAN,
Lispole,
Co Kerry .
Sir, – The death toll from coronavirus in Iran has reached about 1,000, with about 16,000 people infected. Iran has appealed to the UN for sanctions to be lifted. Since Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in November 2018, the Iranian economy has been devastated. Oil exports are less than 10 per cent of what they used to be. All sanctions against Iran, and other countries struggling to deal with this coronavirus outbreak, must be lifted, or at least suspended immediately. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN O’BRIEN,
London.