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Several doctors have called for an end to the daily Covid-19 figures, describing them as a “self-perpetuating cycle of misery.”
Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail, former president of the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP), said the daily announcement “is causing great anxiety” and is “completely meaningless.”
Dr. O Tuathail added that no European country makes daily announcements about Covid-19 numbers.
It recommended that the daily briefing be changed to a full weekly briefing.
The daily figures are unnecessary because they oscillate up and down, he said, adding that what is important is the weekly trend.
Reported Covid-19 cases have been oscillating in recent days with 51 on Sunday, followed by 214 cases on Monday and 89 on Tuesday.
Dr O Tuathail said that Covid-19 is likely to last between two and four years and that the publication of daily figures is leading people to become “obsessed” with the figures to the detriment of the rest of their lives.
“As a GP, I’ve seen so much information being thrown at people that they don’t know where to go,” he said.
“We run the risk of overwhelming people so much that they no longer care. We’re going to have to live with this, so we need to stop letting it take over our entire lives, ”he said.
“Going from a daily ad to a weekly ad would help with people’s anxiety. People know that Covid is close. They know that cases are on the rise. My phone turns on every day at 6pm. That causes anxiety. ”
Dr. O’Tuathail tweeted his support for Ciara Kelly, the host of the Newstalk Breakfast Show, when he said it was time for a fresh look at how Covid-19 figures are presented.
Dr Kelly, who is a physician and has had Covid-19, said the virus must be viewed in the context of there being only four deaths in August. More people had died from suicide, traffic accidents and various illnesses that had not been reported, he said.
“We are doing this wrong. We are scaring people, and the narrative around Covid-19 must carry on. We need to see how we report to Covid. There is no justification for it [the current reporting]. ”
Dr Gabrielle Colleran, Vice President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), also called for the daily Covid-19 ad to be removed.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he said that the daily numbers “cause anxiety in people,” especially when some days have many more numbers than others.
“People get this prick of fear. What matters is to analyze the matter over time. How does this Monday compare to the previous Monday?
“I think it would be much better for us to get the data weekly, and it might reduce the anxiety a bit about it,” Dr. Colleran said.
“Personally, I think not getting daily numbers would be a good thing. NPHET [the National Public Health Emergency Team] they will make their recommendations on what to do based on general trends and not on a single day. ”
She said the daily numbers are distracting and the focus should be on keeping community broadcasting low.
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