When the full history of these times is eventually written, it will undoubtedly explore the stark relationship between the National Public Health Emergency Team and Government.
In early 2020, very few people had heard of NPHET. Today the acronym is up there with the WHO, UNICEF and IMF. Arguably, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, is currently the most powerful and well-known civil servant in the country.
The Taoiseach and senior ministers await 'the letter' the CMO writes after each key NPHET meeting, setting out its recommendations.
After the NPHET meeting on Thursday, the letter was slow in coming. The day before, Dr Holohan had volunteered to do a series of live interviews on the main broadcast media, setting out the landscape