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Britain’s traditional Christmas return of members of the traveling community to Rathkeale, Co Limerick threatens a significant increase in Covid-19 cases in the city, warned leading travel group Pavee Point.
Each December, the city’s population of 1,700 effectively doubles to 3,000 and members of the itinerant community arrive to visit family members; but often for weddings and other gatherings.
“Everyone is absolutely [right] be concerned about Rathkeale, “said Pavee Point co-director Martin Collins, who said those who gathered in large numbers were” playing Russian roulette and potentially there could be fatalities. “
Since last March, he said he had warned against the traditional return in early December of travelers to Rathkeale because of “the risk of contracting and spreading the virus, not only in the traveler community but also in the settled community.”
Members of his own family living in London made the “devastating” decision not to travel: “Under the circumstances, it is the right thing to do, it is the most responsible,” he told The Irish Times.
Calling for a ban on the sale or rental of tents, he said: “During the pandemic, I have seen many Travelers hiring tents and holding parties in their own backyards, birthday parties, anniversaries, etc. on, it is not acceptable. “
Meanwhile, a series of files is being prepared for the Director of the Public Ministry after the incidents attended by gardaí in Rathkeale during the Christmas period “that involve concentrations of large groups in private establishments and on the local public thoroughfare”.
Videos taken at a series of house parties in the city, with large crowds, no social distancing and no masks, have been widely shared locally in recent days, prompting calls for more gardaí to be deployed.
“The videos that are circulating are very alarming. The local community is very worried and upset and they feel forgotten and abandoned, ”said Fianna Fáil Minister of State Niall Collins, who sought details of the Garda Christmas police plan for the city but was rejected.
Covid-19 Figures
The latest Covid-19 figures available from the Health Protection and Surveillance Center (HPSC) broken down by local electoral area put the 14-day incidence rate in the Adare-Rathkeale district above the national average.
The data, collected between Dec. 8 and Dec. 21, puts the number of Covid-19 cases in the district, which includes 27,000 people and extends well beyond the Rathkeale borders, at 353.7 per 100,000.
The figures per 100,000 for other parts of Limerick were Newcastle West: 266.3; East of the city: 260.3; North of the city: 109.5; West City: 106; and Cappamore-Kilmallock, with 74.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In September, two local councilors, Adam Teskey of Fine Gael and the independent Emmett O’Brien, raised concerns about the Christmas risks, although both were criticized for doing so. The numbers, Cllr O’Brien told The Irish Times, had led to “a predictable increase” in cases.
Coinciding with Pavee Point’s advice that people shouldn’t travel, Mr. Collins said: “At this stage, we’ve probably passed that point. What I would ask is that people adhere to proper etiquette and public health guidelines.
“People are afraid and tell me that when some people who don’t wear masks are challenged, they are mistreated. I don’t know if they are members of the traveling community or not, but they can certainly be categorized as people who have returned to Rathkeale for the Christmas period, ”added the TD.
However, David Lamont, a public relations officer for the Rathkeale Community Council, said that Rathkeale was being unfairly targeted. The number of visitors increased, but there was little evidence that masking or social distancing rules were being broken, he said.
Businesses “are sticking very closely to the guidelines and you can’t walk into a store … without a mask, that’s what I’m really seeing, really,” Mr. Lamont said.
“A lot of positive things have happened in the last quarter of this year, with companies renovating and painting facilities, to tell customers that Rathkeale is safe, we appreciate their business and we don’t take it for granted,” he said.
The HSE held a Covid-19 “pop-up” testing clinic in Rathkeale on December 21 and screened 121 people: “There are no plans for more pop-up testing facilities before the new year,” said an HSE spokesperson.
The HSE, as it did last year, has installed a triage clinic in the town that will be operational until January 8, except for Christmas and New Years. Last year, he treated 422 people for 19 days.
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