Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, tells Tipp Today “all-island approach” needed to fight COVID-19

Stock Photo: Tipp FM

“Viruses don’t respect borders”.

So says Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald as the British Prime Minister has ordered people to stay at home and most shops have closed.

There are calls for the same lockdown to be implemented in Ireland.

Speaking on Tipp Today earlier, Deputy McDonald said and all-island approach is badly needed:

“When you face a crisis like this, the stakes really couldn’t be higher. And really people’s political views, or their views on the constitutional question are almost a secondary matter.

“When you’re fighting disease, the island of Ireland is a single unit. I mean, people will know – particularly people in farming – that when we had BSE, we had very much a ‘fortress Ireland’ approach to protect the national herd.

“Certainly, that has to be the approach now when you’re talking about human health.”