NewsTracker Answers for week of Nov. 23, 2020

Q: Just hours after the zoo in Ireland’s capital warned that a pandemic lockdown may force it to close its doors for good, the zoo received more than $1.2 million in donations from the public and pledges from the government to help it survive. Where is the Republic of Ireland?

Circle the area on this map


Q: What is the capital of the Irish republic?

A. Belfast

B. Derry

C. Dublin

D. Lisburn


C. With more than a million people, Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland. The Dublin Zoo is a charitable foundation and has been closed more than five months this year because of COVID-19. Belfast, Derry and Lisburn are the three largest cities in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom along with England and Scotland.


Q: Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the government does not does not want the zoo to close and it will do everything to ensure that will not happen. The Taoiseach is Ireland’s . . .

A. Governor

B. King

C. President

D. Prime minister


D. The Taoiseach is the prime minister and head of government in Ireland. He is appointed by the largely ceremonial president based on a vote by the Dail, the lower house of Ireland’s parliament. The Taoiseach, which means “chief” or “leader” in Irish, must retain the support of a majority in the Dail to remain in office.


Q: The Dublin Zoo is closed under Ireland’s COVID-19 lockdown which restricts people to within 5 kilometers of their homes and does not allow them to have visitors. Most gatherings are banned, and bars and restaurants are takeout only. How does Ireland’s per capita infection rate compare with the United States?

A. Less than half

B. About equal

C. More than double


A. Ireland has 1,445 infections and 42 deaths for every 100,000 of its people compared with 3,640 infections and 77 deaths for every 100,000 people in the U.S.


Q: Since opening in 1831, it has become something of a national treasure and is Ireland’s third-most-visited attraction. What disease outbreak about 14 years after the zoo’s opening cost Ireland about one fourth of its population?

A. Influenza

B. Potato blight

C. Plague

D. Typhoid


B. A potato blight infected crops throughout Europe and triggered the Great Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1849. About a million Irish people died and a million more desperate people emigrated primarily to England, Scotland, North America and Australia.