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A Cork GP has said he would be very surprised if Cork does not move to Level 3 shortly due to the increase in cases in the county and city.
Dr. Ronan Boland cautioned that there was no reason for complacency, as the number of cases had increased rapidly and the capacity of local hospitals had expanded.
He noted that there were only three intensive care beds available on Sunday between Cork’s two main hospitals, for a population of half a million.
“The capacity is not there to deal with an increase in normal diseases, much less Covid-19,” he told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne program.
Both Cork University Hospital (CUH) and Mercy Hospital have been operating at full capacity during the summer months, he said.
In the past two weeks, the number of positive cases of the virus had risen from single figures to 54 cases.
Dr Boland said his medical colleagues in Cork were concerned about “an increase in small fires breaking out” in the city and surrounding towns, which had occurred over the past 10 days.
Each of those small outbreaks had the ability to “spread like fire” and become a bigger problem, he warned.
Dr. Boland expressed concern about the behavior of people who congregate in groups, indoors and outdoors, as their behavior is “uninhibited” by alcohol.
People tended to forget that while they may be relatively safe, they were returning to vulnerable homes with uncles, aunts, parents and grandparents who were doing their best to stay safe, he said.
Speaking yesterday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that while Cork, as well as Wicklow, Galway and Louth, have ever-increasing cases, he does not foresee any announcement on new restrictions before Thursday when the National Public Health Emergency Team ( NPHET) must meet.
Donegal and Dublin have received orders to increase local restrictions due to the increase in cases, and other counties are expected to follow suit.
“There are four counties that I think will be looked at very carefully. They are Cork, Galway, Louth and my own County Wicklow,” Donnelly told RTÉ this week.
“But at this time, there are no plans for NPHET to meet earlier to make recommendations to the government at this time.
“They meet every Thursday, that may change, but right now they have no plans to meet [before then]. “
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