The Health Service Executive has said it "dissociates itself from and rejects" comments made by a senior doctor who said that Covid-19 is less serious than the annual flu and draconian restrictions are no longer required to contain it.
The claims, made by Dr Martin Feeley, were reported by The Irish Times. Dr Feeley, who is Clinical Director of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, said the measures brought in by the Government made sense at the time, but given what is now known about the virus, they are no longer required.
He said people at low risk of the virus should be allowed to be exposed to it, which would enable the country to develop herd immunity, thereby protecting vulnerable groups.