One of Ireland's leading immunologists has criticised the British government's delay in restricting citizen's movements, as the UK's death toll continues to climb.

As of today, the UK has confirmed 11,329 coronavirus deaths, giving a per capita death rate of 16.9 per 100,000 people.

Ireland has registered 365 deaths, with a per capita rate of 7.4 per 100,000 people.

"We're shocked by what's happening in the UK", says Prof Luke O'Neill, an immunologist at Trinity College Dublin.

"I've got lots of scientist collaborators [in the UK] and their jaws are dropping...twice the death rate of Ireland?


Why is the death rate lower in Ireland?

"It could be population density, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The only explanation at the moment has to be shutting things down quickly.

"The UK delayed, and that could be disastrous."

Prof O'Neill attributes the Irish government's swift decisions to close schools and pubs as key factors in preventing asymptomatic infection, and keeping Ireland's outbreak at a relatively manageable level so far.

Ireland's schools closed on 12 March, just three days after St Patrick's Day celebrations were cancelled. The UK didn't follow suit until 20 March.

Image: A sign in Dublin reinforcing the social distancing message

Irish pubs were closed on 16 March, five days before the UK. In between, more than 250,000 racegoers attended the four-day Cheltenham festival, many of them visitors from Ireland.

Boris Johnson's government then undertook a change in direction and brought in "lockdown" measures four days before Ireland.

Some aren't persuaded by the argument that earlier action has led to lower mortality in Ireland.

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Prof Keith Neal, emeritus professor in the epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Nottingham, argues that higher numbers of international travellers put the UK at a disadvantage.

"The most likely explanation is we got COVID-19 much earlier than Ireland," he says. "The risk of introduction is related to the number of travellers coming back with an infection.

"Although Ireland may have the same number of international travellers per head of population, your risk of first introductions is related to the actual number of travellers.

"The UK is 13 times larger in population than Ireland and London is much more of an international centre and hub than Dublin."

Image: Professor Neal says higher numbers of international travellers puts the UK at a disadvantage

Prof Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia thinks different demographics need to be considered.

He said: "One possibility is the higher proportion of BAME people in UK as there is some evidence that this group are more likely to get more ill.

"Other factors such as poverty and relative deprivation could also play a part but it's too early to say for certain."

However, the Irish government has no such reservations.

Minister for Health Simon Harris told Sky News: "I think there's no doubt the early introduction of measures in Ireland to restrict movement and cancel mass gatherings has been absolutely essential.

"We've had people look at our modelling here and they tell us we'd be in a very different place in Ireland if we hadn't made those decisions."

Experts appear to agree that the differing death rates in the two neighbouring countries need to be explored - and lessons can still be learnt.

Prof Hunter added: "The underlying mechanisms between the differing mortality rates between the UK and Ireland are still unclear and need to be investigated very carefully to ensure that we do not miss the opportunity to reduce deaths in the UK."