[ad_1]
In their own minds, it was all a bit of harmless fun. A “party” after a soccer game where everyone knew each other, most of them were colleagues and friends.
But no one could see the uninvited guest in the room, and as the alcohol flowed and inhibitions lowered, the invisible intruder leapt from one group hug to another.
Dr. Martin Coyne, a Lifford GP in Co Donegal, will not go into further details, but the aftermath of the football after party, and those that followed, are the reason his practice is currently is falling apart.
From the start of the pandemic until September 17, it only had 17 patients who tested positive for Covid-19. Yet in the two weeks since, he has seen an astonishing 54 patients.
“This is pretty serious,” says Dr. Coyne.
“We didn’t leave everything up to public health in terms of trying to trace the source. Honestly, with the tsunami that hit Finn Valley, they couldn’t.
“Basically, we were able to question the patients and we have a very good idea where the initial infections came from. There was the indoor soccer spree, then another birthday party, then a wake. Clearly, it was all social gatherings.”
Meanwhile, at HSE’s Northwest Public Health Division, Dr. Anthony Breslin was monitoring the numbers as they came in. Feedback from his public health team was that a particular trend was emerging regarding the increase in cases.
“We saw the numbers across the county, but particularly in Letterkenny and also in the Lifford / Stranorlar area on the east side of the county,” he says. “When we contacted people, they had events, baptisms, communions, confirmations, and unfortunately funerals, birthday parties, etc.
“What happened is that they had one or two more people at these events than would be necessary and that makes driving and keeping up with social distancing and facial covering more difficult, especially when there are young children around.”
People have the right to mark the occasion, he says, but problems have arisen because they have not played by the rules.
“The problem has been what happens when people think there is no risk,” he says.
“It’s very easy to have 15 or 16 people at a christening or communion party, but then you have two tables in a hotel and a stage where someone gets up and crosses over to the other table.
“Let’s say there is another child in a class who has been confirmed positive and the parents get up and come over and say, ‘Amy looked beautiful in the dress’ or whatever. Without knowing it, they could have spread the virus.”
On Thursday, when it emerged that the Lifford / Stranorlar district of Donegal had the highest incidence of Covid for 14 days in the country, the entire county moved to level three of restrictions.
By then, Dr. Breslin had Covid-positive revelers who denied having been to parties when in fact they had, Dr. Coyne was dealing with locals traveling to Dublin for work and picking up Covid on the carpool, and Dr. McCauley had patients visit relatives and return home infected.
“It’s bubbling in here for a while,” says Dr. McCauley.
“Fatigue and complacency set in, particularly with younger people who have the health belief model that they are fine. They don’t really project it beyond themselves.
“We are trying to get the message across that it affects his teammates, his friends and then they might take him home and kill him. We have adapted quite a bit, even within our own homes, to relating and interacting comfortably. Now they are seeing how family members spread it to other families outside the home. “
With a unique position on the border with Derry, the Lifford / Stranorlar region has had a recent influx of vacationers, says Dr. McCauley, which has also exacerbated the problem.
“I think it is a combination of factors,” he says. “The problems are the proximity to Northern Ireland and people from the North moving to Donegal for their holidays. Donegal has a population of 160,000, and God knows what it was in the last three or four weeks. Potentially double.
“A stay at home meant people from Belfast went to Donegal and people from Dublin went to Donegal. People from Derry always cross over to Moville, so that’s normal. The social proximity is greater and as people are on vacation, He has been much more relaxed. “
The geographic location of the district is also something that public health experts believe has driven the spread of the virus.
“One problem we have right now is people crossing the border,” says Dr. Breslin. “The North has one of the highest incidences in the UK at the moment and we have a lot of cross-border activity.”
The Northern Ireland Department of Health yesterday recorded the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in a 24-hour period: 273 new infections brought the total number to more than 10,000. People were urged to avoid all unnecessary travel across the border in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Acting Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn and his northern counterpart Dr. Michael McBride have also called on teens and people in their 20s and 30s in Donegal and Derry to cut back on social contacts.
Travel across the border and the possibility of spreading the virus among the local community has been a concern for GPs, but they understand that the problem is complex.
“The problem is on both sides of the River Foyle,” says Dr. Coyne. “People come and go all the time, for work, for school … The virus does not see the border.”
Now that the surge in Donegal has started, he fears the worst to come.
“I referred four for testing this morning alone,” he says.
“We are at the center of all this now and there will be no truce for the next time, given the trajectory. We need people to cut contacts and follow the guidelines urgently.”
[ad_2]