This is an extremely interesting thread making good points. However, the UK has some factors which make it more vulnerable to the virus than Ireland. eg England is very urban, including Europe's only megacity, unlike Ireland... (1/2) https://twitter.com/laineydoyle/status/1249127908876128259

(2/2) there are also a lot more BAME people in UK which might have an impact if it's true they're more vulnerable. N.Ireland has similar demography & urban/rural balance to ROI but has followed UK lockdown so that's a better comparison if you just want to look at lockdown effect.

...and the per capita death rates in NI & ROI are pretty much identical as far as I can calculate. Suggesting social & geographical factors are more relevant than the mistakes of the Tory government.