Inquiry hears presence of visitors in Antrim and Dublin ‘dispelled’ idea that China would contain pandemic
Richard Pengelly, the former permanent secretary for Northern Ireland's Department of Health, leaves the inquiry's sitting in Belfast on Tuesday. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
The visit was revealed in an internal civil service message, shown to the inquiry, which was sent on January 25th, 2020, a month before the first case of Covid-19 was identified in Northern Ireland.This couple lived on Great Blasket with no electricity or running water. Here’s what they did nextDistressed mother tells judge her daughter alleges ‘multiple’ rapes by teenage brother
Lead counsel for the inquiry, Clair Dobbin KC, put it to Mr Pengelly that “any idea that this pandemic was something happening on the other side of the world and presented no threat to Northern Ireland was very clearly dispelled at this point in time.
“I think had an Executive been in place for three years, it wouldn’t have been perfect, but it would have been better than it was at the point we entered the pandemic,” he said. Ms Dobbin also asked Prof Young why it “wasn’t ultimately possible” for the two jurisdictions on the island to have joint modelling during the pandemic.
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