McGrath slams Covid-19 response and says public support is lost

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Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath believes the Government’s response to Covid-19 is turning into a shambles, and thinks that public support for measures has been lost.

The independent deputy will be attending Oireachtas Covid-19 committee this afternoon, and is strongly critical of what he calls “mixed messaging” on Covid restrictions.

Phase 4 is due to be introduced from next Monday, but appears highly unlikely to proceed due to rising infection rates.

Deputy McGrath also says that problems remain with turnaround times for some Covid-19 tests:

“I have an individual case of a young man that works for a small businessman in Tipperary. He decided two Sunday nights ago to ring his employer and say he was out last night with a gentleman who had previously been out at a party where Covid-19 was reported.

“The employer encouraged him to go to the doctor in the morning and the doctor sent him for a test, and he waited from 3-4pm on the Monday until the Friday evening before he got the results. And wait for it, there was absolutely no contact tracing.”