Scenes of people drinking on the street in Dublin on Saturday night, flouting Covid-19 restrictions were “demoralising” for health care workers, according to Dr Mary Favier, a member of Nphet and former president of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
Such scenes were “demoralising for people who have spent months on the front-line” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Dr Favier said that complacency and fatigue had set in with regard to restrictions and people had taken their eye off the ball.
She called on employers, staff, trade unions, student unions and organisations such as the GAA to encourage everyone to take precautions when it comes to work and congregating.
“We need peer led motivation,” she added.
“I think as a society, we need to be cautious. We will need to have a cautious approach as to how alcohol is used over the next few weeks.”
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Dr Favier warned that a person could take a test every day, but they would still need to isolate for the recommended time.
“The restrictions on travel are appropriate now and unfortunately will be necessary in five or six weeks time."
The virus didn’t recognise the boundaries of the Christmas season, she said.
Covid-19 breach
It comes as yesterday a Dublin pub said it was ‘furious’ after a video surfaced online of a crowd reportedly drinking outside its doors.
Grogans Castle Lounge on South William Street said yesterday marked eight months of the pub being closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, with revellers leaving its premises in a “disgraceful state” after an apparent breach of Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings.
In a tweet, the pub said: “8 months closed yesterday. Deemed unsafe to operate by NPHET and Gov. Is this safer?”
“Clearly nearby properties don’t have to follow the rules. Our premises is in a disgraceful state this morning with tons of rubbish and people using it as a toilet.
“We are furious this morning.”
Gardaí said they responded to reports of a large gathering of people on the street and maintained a presence in the area.
“Gardaí attended the scene and requested all persons to disperse,” a Garda spokesman said.
“Gardaí maintained a presence in the area. No breaches of regulations were detected. A number of patrols were conducted in the area over the course of the evening."
Silly me!
Who am I to think we are all doing as we should on a normal Sat night in Dublin.
If this is Level 5, we are never getting out of it🥱
For anyone not sure where this is, its South William Street, Dublin 2 this evening. pic.twitter.com/pFkkl6oSCN— Tara Fay (@tarafayevents) November 14, 2020
