As the number of COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases passes 100,000 globally, RISE member Sami El-Sayed says that we need a response that measures up to the scale of the crisis.

The number of cases of COVID-19 on the island of Ireland has increased to 33. It is likely, based on trends in other countries, that there will be a continued exponential growth of the number of people infected with the virus in the coming weeks and months - while it’s expected that nearly 2 million people will be infected with the coronavirus in Ireland and that 20,000 or so people could die as a result, the absolute worst case projections have over 80,000 - 120,000 deaths in Ireland alone. To reduce infections and deaths, the main task is to contain the virus as much as possible, in order to spread out the number of cases over time and reduce strain on the healthcare system.

The problem

However, a key element to successful containment of a virus like this is public cooperation. The HSE currently instructs those who have symptoms of the coronavirus - such as a cough, shortness of breath, and fever - to self-isolate for 14 days. But who can afford to do that? Working class people have bills to pay and children to care for, not to mention the many other activities they are responsible for in their community. Without a guarantee that sick pay funding will be immediately available to cover bills and assistance with family care (groceries, school pick ups, activities) people will be reluctant to self-report and subject themselves to self-isolation for a period of weeks.

The other significant issue is the question of those living in overcrowded conditions. Ireland is facing a significant housing crisis. Generations of families are living in overcrowded homes, with people often living with their elderly parents or grandparents, the most vulnerable to COVID-19. People are living in overcrowded emergency accommodation and hubs. There are no spare rooms, no safe conditions for people to self-isolate. People must also make use of overcrowded public transport due to chronic underfunding and privatisation of our transport system, which exacerbates the problems created by mass transit in epidemic situations.

Our society from top to bottom is organised on the basis of profit, and that remains as true in times of crisis (as the housing, health and climate crises tell us) as in times of peace. Nothing is a clearer indication of that reality than empty “ghost planes” being flown across the world, causing significant environmental damage, just for the air travel companies to keep their slot in their airports. The capitalist establishment would like us to think that dealing with a public health crisis, like the spread of the coronavirus, is simply an issue above politics, above ideology. In reality, we must see the crisis created by COVID-19 for what it is - a class issue, where the 1% will largely be able to insulate themselves from the worst effects of the crisis, while working class people are forced to bear the brunt of the pain.

The solution

That means that if we’re serious about fighting COVID-19, we must be serious about the impact it will have on people’s lives and taking the steps necessary to mitigate them. While the government has finally removed waiting times for illness benefit, it is not enough. As the crisis worsens, more workers will be infected, and many workplaces will instigate a lockout of their workforce in order to prevent the virus spreading. In each case, workers should be paid mandatory sick pay with their full wages until the situation returns to normal, and emergency measures should immediately be brought in by the government to that effect.

This equally applies in the case of school closures. Parents will find themselves unable to work if their children are kept out of school. In that situation, they should have a right to stay home from work and continue to receive their full pay. People should also no longer be forced to attend the often-crowded dole or post office in order to receive welfare payments.

If businesses claim that they’re unable to provide sick pay, they must open their books and prove their inability to do so. In such a situation, the state should step in and cover the costs.

To deal with overcrowding in homes where the virus is likely to spread, we must use the huge numbers of vacant properties available and rapidly ensure that they are fit for human habitation, and use them to immediately ease the housing crisis. The excuses that the right wing establishment puts forward to excuse inaction on the housing crisis can no longer be allowed to stand - if we must infringe on the “sacred” institution of private property that capitalism values so highly, then we must.

We’re seeing already in other states that key supplies for fighting the crisis have been taken into public ownership to be used on the basis of highest need. We must take similar steps here - all medical masks, disinfectants and other supplies that can mitigate the spread of the coronavirus must be taken out of the market and given to those who need it most - first and foremost our frontline healthcare professionals, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses such as immunodeficiency conditions like cystic fibrosis.

The HSE recruitment freeze in the health service has been lifted, but that is not enough. We are suffering brain drain due to chronic low pay and poor staffing conditions - we should immediately grant a pay increase and establish pay equality in the public sector in order to provide our stretched health service with as many workers as possible to cope with the crisis.

The health service has been in a state of permanent crisis long before a potential coronavirus epidemic came onto the scene, with a lack of beds, cancellation of elective surgeries and outpatient appointments being a regular feature. Our health service is on its knees after decades of abuse by the right-wing establishment. An immediate starting point to alleviating some of this damage is requisitioning private hospitals to make use of the beds available, easing the pressure on the public health system as a result. This can be done as a step towards rapidly building an Irish National Health Service.

The government has thus far failed to move towards any of these measures, and has failed to take essential preventative measures such as the calling off of St. Patrick’s Day events. Whilst many people would understandably be disappointed, St. Patrick’s Day events in Dublin attract in excess of 100,000 tourists every year, including those from countries currently suffering significant COVID-19 infection rates. The confined spaces of pubs and so on will provide a huge opportunity for the coronavirus to rapidly spread and run out of control. The government is clearly delaying on this issue because it is not willing to infringe on the profits of the tourism industry, and is willing to risk a pandemic so that the hotels, pubs and air travel companies aren’t out of pocket.

The failure to take any of these measures could be disastrous. Not only would it leave our entire society vulnerable to the spread of infection due to working people having no choice but to work, but it would leave the most vulnerable in our society hanging out to dry whilst depriving us of an absolutely essential resource for fighting this crisis - healthy frontline medical staff. The price of putting profit above people is simply too high.

Change the system

It is a price that would, firstly, be a product of government inaction in order to protect the interests of the capitalist establishment it represents, but the ultimate cause would be the severe neglect and abuse of our health service, already stretched thin. In South Korea, where they have 12 beds per 1000 people, they are running short on beds due to the spread of the virus. Ireland has 3 beds per 1000 people - the numbers speak for themselves.

Now is the time to start taking the necessary action of establishing a single-tier universal healthcare service: where the most vulnerable in our society are taken care of, that is properly staffed and properly funded, with enough beds and free to access. In that process we need to take the private hospitals into public ownership.

The public health crisis is impacting the entire planet, and already we are seeing significant economic impacts starting in China and rippling outwards, potentially leading to a global economic crisis. The Eurozone, of which Ireland is a part, is already projected to enter into a very deep recession. It has been reported that upwards of 30-50% of the Irish population is likely to get sick (Sunday Business Post, 8 March 2020) and 40 to 70% of the global population within a year, which would be akin to a huge global general strike. Profits would massively fall, causing panic in the markets and likely capital flight.

In this case, we must stand utterly opposed to any and all job losses, pay cuts, or attacks on conditions which the establishment will attempt to impose on us in the aftermath of the crisis. If businesses claim that these are necessary measures, we must absolutely reject that logic. They must open the books, and if they are unable to continue operating then they should be taken into democratic public ownership.

The crisis created by COVID-19 is a symptom of a fundamentally sick capitalist system. If we want to head off the worst effects of the crisis and protect ourselves into the future, the system must go.