[ad_1]
Gardai acted swiftly to deal with large groups of people who gathered last night in the city center of Cork amid concerns over breaches of Level 5 restrictions.
Crowds were seen at the Grand Parade, on Coal Quay, around Patrick Street, and in some cases, gathered near pubs selling pints to go and hot drinks.
Several hundred people were on the boardwalk next to the Nano Nagle Bridge in front of the Grand Parade around 9pm last night.
And Gardai told CorkBeo this morning that officers came in to direct the crowd to disperse.
A Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí responded to reports of a large gathering of people in South Mall, Cork City, last night.”
“Gardaí attended the scene and asked all the people to disperse. Gardaí maintained a presence in the area. No infractions of the regulations were detected.”
“Several patrols were carried out in the area during the course of the night.”
It was the second Saturday night in a row that large crowds were seen in locations around the city center. Many in the crowd have been bringing their own drink to the streets, to meet up and meet friends.
Social media posts from people who witnessed the crowds included concerns about the public health implications of large-scale breaches of Level 5 restrictions at gatherings.
One poster compared the South Mall scenes to the “Magaluf Strip”, while others raised the possibility of a “curfew” for Cork city center over the weekend, such as the curfew at 10pm which was held in UK city centers to deal with night-time meetings.
There are also public hygiene concerns, as there are currently no functioning public toilets in the entire city center, and since pubs and cafes remain closed, many of the alleys and streets around the city center have been left in a very unsanitary state this morning.
The Gardai has been asked to enforce temporary restrictions introduced on October 22 that are designed to monitor Level 5 violations and behavior that could pose a threat to public health.
A Garda spokesperson told CorkBeo this morning: “In supporting COVID-19 public health guidelines and regulations, An Garda Síochána has adopted and will continue to adopt a graduated police response based on its tradition of consent policing.”
“This has seen Garda members participate, explain, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce.
“The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health crisis and An Garda Síochána continues to call on all citizens to comply with the Public Health Guidelines and Regulations, in particular essential travel, in order to continue saving lives “.
[ad_2]