"I stupidly talked about there being 18 other coronaviruses, which of course there isn't."
Health Minister Simon Harris has admitted he made a mistake when he said there has been "18 other coronaviruses" before Covid-19 while speaking on the radio on Wednesday morning.
Making the remark on 2FM Wednesday morning, Harris said: "But remember this is coronavirus, Covid-19. That means there have been 18 other coronaviruses and I don’t think they have actually successfully found a vaccine for any."
This is not the case, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that Covid-19 stands for: Corona (CO) Virus (VI) Disease (D) and 19 (2019), the year it was first detected - there has not been 18 other coronaviruses.
Taking to his Twitter page on Wednesday evening he apologised for the mistake, claiming he can be an "awful aul' idiot at times".
Wednesday night update #coronavirus #Covid19 - meetings with @HSELive, new supports from @IrishWheelchair & @alzheimersocirl , @UCDMedicine graduation this week https://t.co/wTH7Rc2Sev
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 22, 2020
He said: "I was trying to make the point that there has been lots of viruses in the world so far for which there hasn't been a vaccine found...
"Don't ask me how or why, I can only presume it's a degree of cabin fever after being in this department on a very regular basis for the last while maybe a bit of sleep deprivation, I stupidly talked about there being 18 other coronaviruses, which of course there isn't. I can be an awful aul' idiot at times.
"The point I'm trying to make is that lots of work is going on around the world to try and find a vaccine."
There are now 16,671 cases of coronavirus nationwide and 769 people have lost their lives.
