Tag Archives: Covid-19

A SUSTAINED surge in emergency presentations and a significant increase in Covid-19 cases has led to almost all elective activity at University Hospital Limerick being deferred until further notice. This includes outpatient appointments, elective surgery and diagnostic investigations. UHL has moved to its highest level of escalation, meaning emergency and time-critical care for the sickest patients is being prioritised. Services at Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, University Maternity Hospital Limerick, Croom Orthopaedic Hospital and St John’s Hospital are largely unaffected and patients in these hospitals are advised to attend for their appointments or procedures unless contacted directly by our staff and advised otherwise. A spokesperson for UL Hospitals Groups said, “We sincerely regret this significant reduction in service at University Hospital Limerick, which is necessary to prioritise emergency and time-critical care. Affected patients will be contacted as soon as possible to reschedule their appointments and procedures. “The Emergency Department remains open 24-7 for emergency cases and emergency and trauma surgery is …

UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick (UHL) will be closed to inpatient visiting for the next number of days due to multiple outbreaks of Covid-19 and influenza across the site. There are limited exceptions to the safety measure including parents visiting children in hospital; people assisting confused patients (e.g. dementia) (on a case-by-case basis); people visiting patients who are critically unwell or at end of life (on a case-by-case basis). All exemptions are limited to one person per patient only. Seven wards are currently affected, and on the recommendation of the UL Hospitals outbreak teams, the decision to close to visitors was taken as a precautionary measure. A spokesperson said that all appropriate infection control precautions were being followed to minimise the risk of spreading infection among staff and patients in the hospital, and also within the wider community. “The situation is being monitored and reviewed daily, and we will relax the restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so. We’re …

HAVING first decided to postpone its 2022 show, Shannon Musical Society has now decided to cancel it altogether. Its production of Little Shop of Horrors was going to happen in April, but the Society felt that despite the loosening of restrictions, allowing it to go ahead could potentially result in serious problems. Aodán Fox was set to direct the production, and he said it had been a difficult decision. “It was a tough call to have to make to be honest, but there were several concerns. The fact that we could have been in a position financially to put ourselves in major danger if we had all the outlay and we were hit by Omicron, either the week before or the week of the show and have to cancel, that was a major concern. “It could put the Society in grave danger of not being able to continue. After chatting it out with the cast and the committee, it was …

ALMOST two years of restrictions helped stem the march of Covid-19, but it undoubtedly came at a cost to many people’s emotional and mental wellbeing. Loneliness was always one of the main reasons that people picked up the phone and rang the Samaritans, and with interaction virtually banned at certain times and severely restricted at all others, it was far worse than ever between March 2020 and January 2022. Margaret McMahon is director the Clare & Ennis branch of the Samaritans and on Monday, she said the pandemic had resulted in more callers. “I think we got more callers and they were coming from a wider range of backgrounds. We would have had students who were not back at home, young people who would have been staying away and there are all the pressures that come with that in a family.” “Particularly in the beginning there would have been people who were trying to keep a long distance relationship together. …

THE Parish Priest of Tulla has repeated his call for a period of reflection and healing, as pandemic restrictions finally lift and a day of national commemoration is planned.  Fr Brendan Quinlivan, who is also Diocesan Communications Officer, welcomed plans for remembrance events on Sunday, March 20, and urged that all of the losses and sacrifices endured since early 2020 be acknowledged. Figures released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that 150 people in Clare died with Covid-19 between March 3 2020 and January 18 of this year.  Last March, in the height of a Level 5 lockdown, Fr Quinlivan warned of an impending crisis of unsolved grief and loss, and urged the Government to address those issues as soon as the Covid emergency abated.  “It’s very important that we acknowledge in a formal way and a ritual way, the great sense of loss experienced in so many ways over the last two years,” he said. “First and …

THE Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), which kept the lights on in the local and national economy for much of the pandemic, is about to be wound down. At one point in May of 2020 almost 15,000 Clare people were receiving the payment, which was then set at €350 per week. Even on January 11 2022 there were still 1,754 people in the county receiving the PUP, but almost all restrictions having been removed now, that figure is likely to have fallen in recent days. The PUP closed to new applications from last Saturday, January 22, as the restrictions were being scrapped. From March 8, anyone still in receipt of it will move to a weekly rate of €208, which is a four week extension on what had been planned. From then on the recipients will be transitioning to standard jobseeker terms and, if eligible, they will move to a jobseekers payment from April 5. While the PUP was criticised by …

SHANNON Airport had just under 380,000 passengers in 2021, with Covid-19 measures having a huge impact. It was only after the rollout of vaccinations and the introduction of the EU Digital Covid Cert that restrictions on non essential air travel were lifted in mid July. The numbers that travelled in 2021 were actually an increase on the 352,000 figure in 2020, but they were down by 78% on 2019, the last full year of operation prior to the pandemic. Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said that while it had been a challenging year, the relaxation of restrictions gives grounds for optimism. “Our team at Shannon Group have been unwavering in our focus on recovery and rebuilding to ensure a successful future for our employees, the people and businesses in our region who rely on our Shannon Airport services for their livelihoods. Although it has been another challenging year, having come through the worst of the Pandemic, we are confident that …

ENNIS hotelier Allen Flynn is delighted with the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions. The virus has plunged the hospitality and tourism industries into chaos over the last two years, but yesterday’s announcement of a major easing of restrictions has sparked much optimism that 2022 will be different. Speaking to the Clare Champion on Friday, Mr Flynn said it was great to see things going in the right direction. “It’ll make a massive difference. We’ve had a very tough period since Christmas as a result of Covid, everyone wants to do their bit, ensuring the health and safety of customers and staff was paramount, everyone wanted to buy into that, and we’d like to think we’re coming out at the other end much stronger.” Given the nature of his business, he expected it would take a few days to get ready. “In our industry you can’t just flick a switch, there are staff who may be on vacation, there are temporary lay …