The Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Public Health Agency (PHA) in Northern Ireland are urging people to stick to key public health advice over the coming weeks, particularly with regard to cross-Border activity.
As The Irish Times reports, the joint statement from the health authorities comes amid concern over the risk of a rise in cases in Border areas as Covid-19 restrictions in both countries ease.
On Friday evening, chief medical officer Tony Holohan said Donegal needed to “turn around” its high Covid-19 infection rates.
There are clear examples of non-compliance across the county, said Dr Holohan: “The kind of things that even the dogs on the street in Donegal know shouldn’t be happening.”
Incidence in the county has been almost continually above the national average since last September and currently stands at almost 300 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 127 nationally. In Milford, incidence stands at 675 and in Letterkenny it is 600.
Birthday and other parties, funerals and wakes, and meet-ups among secondary school students have been implicated in the outbreaks there.
Differing circumstances
On Friday, Dr Gerry Waldron, head of health protection at the PHA, said: “As lockdowns ease in different ways either side of the Border, we really want people to continue to exercise caution and restraint to help limit the spread of coronavirus.
"Some Border communities have seen high levels of Covid-19 infection during the pandemic, so we need to act responsibly to help keep case numbers down and ultimately save lives.
“Viruses don’t recognise borders, so we all need to act with caution."
Dr Anthony Breslin, director of public health for HSE North West, said: “It is also important not to move beyond what the guidelines permit at any given time or to take advantage of differing circumstances either side of the border in a way which could increase risk.
“We also shouldn’t become complacent as vaccination continues to be rolled out. Vaccines have an important role to play, but can never provide 100 per cent protection, which is why the other public health steps are still important.
“The opportunities we have for more normality are a positive, but could very quickly become a negative again if we put ourselves and others at risk by forgetting about the key steps to help stay safe.”
