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For a Friday morning, St. Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny is unusually busy. There is mass at 10 am, then a baptism and two elementary school classes that make their First Communion. “It’s like Custer’s last battle here,” comments one parishioner.
Starting at midnight, the cathedral closes for everything but private prayer as the county moves to Level 3 of the Government’s plan to live with Covid-19 to combat high levels of the virus in Donegal; Among other measures, it means a ban on social and family gatherings, new restrictions for the hospitality industry, and a ban on travel in and out of the county, albeit with an exception for work, educational or other essential purposes.
On the steps of the cathedral on Friday, Charlene Murray and Sunil Kumar briefly pose for a photo before rushing in so as not to miss the allotted time for their daughter Alaya’s baptism.
“We thought it would be canceled, but we got a message last night saying that I could move on,” Murray explains. “We wanted to baptize her while we could still do it.”
For others, it’s about making the most of the last chance to go to Mass. “My way out will be walks on the beach,” says an elderly parishioner. She admits to being “very upset” by the Level 3 restrictions, but emphasizes that “we have to do it, for the good of the country.
The accusation of not following the rules is accused, in various ways, against the ‘vacationers’ of the south, the Northerners and the youth.
“We have been very good here, the social distancing has been maintained, but I think that to some extent the standards have slipped.”
“Everybody got very informal about it, you could see it out there,” says another mass attendee, Dorothy Maguire, adding that people who had adhered to the rules that were already in place are “seriously concerned. Now him [new] there are restrictions, we need compliance with the rest. “
‘Sick and tired’
In the city center, this accusation of not following the rules is accused, in various ways, by the “vacationers” from the south, the Northerners (the rates are so high across the border in Derry and Strabane) and Young.
Also blamed are house parties and social gatherings like birthday parties and wakes, venues that haven’t implemented the guidelines, and simple fatigue, especially in a county that previously experienced low levels of the virus.
“It’s been going on for so long, I’m fed up and tired,” says 18-year-old Agata Mitek. “But you have to do what you have to do. You have to follow the regulations. “
Blaming young people, he says, is unfair. “They are all, not just the young. I am trying to comply with the rules, but I work in a store and there are elderly people who come in without masks and are coughing, but since they are vulnerable nobody says anything ”.
“People talk about the north,” adds another woman, “but much of our business comes from the north. We need them.”
At Dillon’s Hotel on Main Street, General Manager Robert McElhinney is studying his staff rotations. “There will be at least 20 employees for whom I will not have a job for three weeks.”
It’s very disheartening, it’s a terrible kick in the teeth
Since the move to Level 3 restrictions was announced, “the phone has done pretty well” with cancellations. “It’s very difficult to say something positive,” says McElhinney. “I really didn’t think I would do this again so soon.”
Widespread impact
The hotel will remain open, but approximately half of its reservations have been canceled and for the next three weeks they will only be able to serve residents; questions the logic of this, especially given the security measures that the hotel has implemented, and says that although the support announced by the Government is welcome, more needs to be done: “It will not replace lost business in the next three days , regardless of the next three weeks.
“There is a question mark about the long-term viability of people’s businesses right now. It’s not even October, but it feels like mid-November. Our summer really starts at the end of April, and now it seems like 10 years to go. “
The president of the city’s chamber of commerce, Jimmy Stafford, emphasizes that the impact will be widespread. “We all know someone who works in an industry that will be affected, someone who will be laid off for three weeks or who will have to close the front door.”
“We’re paying the penalty for other people’s carelessness and complacency,” said Jimmy Kennedy of the Brewery Bar.
“People became complacent, they forgot to do the things they should be doing, and as a result, everyone suffers.” As staff prepared Friday to serve their last carvery lunch before closing at midnight for three weeks, Kennedy completed his application for the Covid payment.
“We have about 26 full-time employees and they are all going back to paying Covid, and they all have bills to pay and mortgages and children,” he said. “It’s very disheartening, it’s a terrible kick in the teeth.”
Additional help from the government will be needed “for us to recover”; what’s currently being offered “will help, but it’s hard to beat the usual business.”
However, despite everything, he remains hopeful. “It’s a body shot, but we’ve already come this way once. . . I think we can get back to a level that will keep everyone safe here and be pretty confident that we can do business. “
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