Colfer Barry
Mi Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies Harvard University Cambridge MA USA.
Department of Politics and International Studies University of Cambridge UK.
Eur Policy Anal. 2020 Dec;6(2):203-225. doi: 10.1002/epa2.1096. Epub 2020 Nov 26.
The responses to COVID-19 in Ireland and the UK differed, and will have consequences for life in these islands that will extend far beyond the current crisis. Ireland went into lockdown relatively early on 12 March, while after a slow initial response, with plans for herd immunity, the UK started introducing restrictions around 20 March and quickly became a world leader in cases. While the UK has also presented similar responses seen elsewhere in Europe, one further area of note sees the devolved responses in different parts of the UK diverge considerably. These differences cannot be explained purely in terms of epidemiological conditions, as the trajectories of the virus in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are broadly similar. The reality is that the leaders of the devolved governments reached different political judgments from PM Johnson, which may bring further pressure to bear on the UK's constitutional makeup.
爱尔兰和英国对新冠疫情的应对措施有所不同，这将对这些岛屿上的生活产生影响，且这种影响将远远超出当前危机的范畴。爱尔兰于3月12日相对较早地进入封锁状态，而英国最初反应迟缓，曾有群体免疫计划，在3月20日左右开始实施限制措施，并迅速成为病例数方面的全球“领先者”。虽然英国也呈现出与欧洲其他地方类似的应对情况，但另一个值得注意的方面是，英国不同地区的权力下放应对措施存在很大差异。这些差异不能单纯用流行病学状况来解释，因为病毒在英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰的传播轨迹大致相似。实际情况是，权力下放政府的领导人做出了与约翰逊首相不同的政治判断，这可能会给英国的宪法构成带来进一步压力。
