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Professor Philip Nolan de Nphet has urged people not to be fearful or dejected this Christmas, but asked people to “make our Christmas small, very intimate and caring” for the sake of our loved ones.
The Nphet moderator urged people to take a break this Christmas after a stressful year, but asked people to spend time on “a small number of the people most important to us.”
“The virus is spreading rapidly over the past two weeks and that threatens us and our loved ones. The central message at this point should be not to be afraid or downcast about this, but it does mean that we have to keep our Christmas small, very intimate and careful.
“We should celebrate it in a meaningful way, but the meaning of that is to be very careful not to put the vulnerable of those we love at risk.
“If you’ve been out for a long time in the last few days, or you think you may put a loved one at risk, what you need to do for that loved one right now is stay away,” said Professor Nolan.
The president of the University of Maynooth advised people who feel safe and those who have been careful thus far to keep meetings to a minimum.
“I’m sorry to have to say this, but it is in your family and friends’ interest that you say so.
“Don’t spend too much time together, if you can, and do all the things that you are tired of hearing us say; hand hygiene, wearing a mask, social distancing, opening a window to ventilate, ”said the modeling expert.
The Nphet member praised the “solidarity” of the Irish people to ward off the virus by doing what is asked every time a wave of pandemic hits the nation.
“This time it comes very fast and very hard,” said Professor Nolan, adding: “We have to be very, very careful and what each of us does in the coming weeks is going to determine what the numbers will be in January and February.
“Today is not the day to speculate on future figures, today is the day to say that we can, as always, stop the spread of this virus by taking the measures described,” said Professor Nolan.
Professor Nolan admitted that he was not confident that the current restrictions, however restrictive, are sufficient to stop the sudden increase in cases, but asked the Irish people to ‘prove me wrong’.
“We are heading towards a thousand cases a day and really as a society that gives us no choice but to withdraw completely and suppress the virus to some degree.
“Nphet yesterday made a specific set of recommendations to the government, which I am not free to discuss here and now, but I will say that this is a time to reflect and hopefully prepare for a new year.
“The vaccines are coming and while they may not come as soon as some people expect, they are coming. We have to gird ourselves up and prepare for a period after Christmas in which we must work together to suppress this virus.
“There is always a distinction between what we can do and what we must do,” says Professor Nolan, adding that people “should do the least” this Christmas. He added that people need to be aware of the vulnerable people around them.
Online editors
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