Coronavirus: Dublin and Cork St Patrick's Day parades cancelled

 The St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin has been cancelled on the recommendation of the National Public Health Emergency Team.

It comes after Cork City cancelled its St Patrick’s Day parade.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to brief the media this afternoon after he met with political party leaders.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has earlier called for Dublin's parade to be cancelled as the Republic attempts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

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Speaking to RTÉ radio, she said it would be "the responsible and necessary thing to do".

Ms McDonald said she has been in contact with Mr Varadkar to request an urgent meeting about Covid-19 along with the leaders of all the other political parties.

"It is equally necessary that political leaders from across the spectrum are fully informed, engaged and involved in this process," she said.

First Minister Arlene Foster, who was in London to attend the British government's emergency Cobra meeting, said the UK remains in the containment phase and said that people should continue to take a "common sense" approach to the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking on the steps of the Cabinet Office, she said that decisions to postpone major public and sporting events would be "led by the scientific advisers".

"We're still in the containment phase," she said.

"This is a big issue for the nation, there's no getting away from it. What we must do is try to mitigate and delay this disease becoming a real issue for the whole of the UK.

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"We are led by the scientific advisers... but it is all about timing and taking the appropriate intervention at the appropriate time.

"Take a common sense approach to this, I think that's very important."

Mrs Foster said there were no plans to cancel major public gatherings in the north, but acknowledged that could change.

"At the moment we don't have advice to cancel those but that advice may change in the coming days and weeks, I know it is very uncertain for everyone who is planning an event or indeed attending an event," she told BBC Radio Ulster.

"But in all of these things the fact that this is a new virus, a new virus which we haven't dealt with before, a very virulent virus - we just have to take the scientific advice in all of those matters."

Mrs Foster said she and deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill may look again at their plans to travel to Washington DC later in the week to attend St Patrick's celebrations in the White House. The Stormont's leaders have already cancelled the New York leg of their itinerary.

"I should have been in New York at this moment in time, instead I am in London," said the DUP leader. "We will take and look at further advice later on today and even into tomorrow. We are not actually due to leave until Wednesday morning, we have some time to decide whether it is the thing to do, to go.

"The reason we go is because we have very good access to the leader of the United States of America, who else could have that access, and indeed with businesses. But we have to balance that with the needs here in the UK and Northern Ireland so we will be looking at that again over the coming hours."

In the Republic, Health Minister Simon Harris said the coronavirus outbreak will become "very serious", adding there is a moderate to high risk it could follow in similar ways as experienced in other European nations.

Mr Harris said it will require a whole of government and whole of society approach to deal with the escalation in coronavirus cases.

He said the country's health service will not be found wanting in its resources to tackle the outbreak.

Later today Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will chair a new Cabinet sub-committee meeting on Covid-19.

Senior members of government and health experts are to discuss how to deal with the impact of the virus and consider strengthening employment protection laws and supports for people who have to self-isolate.

Speaking to RTÉ Morning Ireland, Mr Harris urged the public not to panic.

"I think that's a really important message, I know a lot of people are worried," Mr Harris said.

"Over 80 per cent of us who will get this virus will get a mild illness, but for some of us we will get very sick.

"What we have to do as a government, and what we have to do as a society, is prepare, and particularly prepare to support vulnerable groups of older people and people with underlying health conditions.

"There's things all of us can do as individuals in terms of trying to slow the spread of this virus because the best possible chance we have in terms of dealing with this virus is to slow its spread.

"That helps our health service, it helps our frontline stuff and it helps us all as individuals."

He added: "There's a moderate to high risk of this, according to the European experts, taking hold in a very serious way in Ireland (and) that would require a prioritisation of services.

"It would require for a period of time us focusing on the virus above and beyond other procedures in hospitals."

He said the sub-committee will involve relevant government departments and state agencies.

Mr Harris said they will make a decision on Monday on reducing the number of waiting days for social welfare payments and supports for people who have been told to self-isolate by health authorities.

"One of the things we've been looking at across government is can you reduce that waiting period so people can get support more quickly, and that's something we'll be considering today," Mr Harris said.

He also said they are opening more ICU beds to "around 300" and will speak to the country's private hospitals.

"It's quite likely that if you got to a situation where this virus outbreaks in a serious way, that many elective procedures in private hospitals could yet be cancelled so they may have capacity," Mr Harris said.

"We will not be found wanting when it comes to providing any resources that are required and the Minister for Finance (Pascal Donohoe) has been clear in this."

He said health experts are still considering whether or not St Patrick's Day celebrations will go ahead.

He said that a decision will be made in the next 48 hours.