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Tag Archives: Covid-19

Call for exemption for support group meetings if Covid-19 restrictions increase

ADDICTION support meetings should be allowed to continue in person, as and when Covid-19 restrictions move to Level Three and beyond, according to Clare-based senator Martin Conway. Fine Gael’s Seanad spokesperson on health, has described support group meetings as “life saving” and called for them to be designated as essential services, even in the event of restrictions moving to the highest, Level Five, status. Since Dublin moved to Level Three restrictions last Friday, face-to-face meeting have been suspended there. Senator Conway said the issue wasn’t just of concern to the capital but to the whole country, given the likelihood that restrictions would have to be tightened in different areas as we move through the pandemic. “I understand that AA together with Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Gamblers Anonymous (GA) have had to take this decision in order to comply with the public health guidelines as set out in the roadmap,” the Ennistymon native said. “These organisations are a lifeline to thousands …

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McNamara pressures experts for answers on nursing homes Covid crisis

FURTHER questions have been asked about the transfer of patients from acute hospitals into nursing homes during the first wave of Covid-19 in this country, with Clare TD Michael McNamara repeatedly pressing experts about accountability for decision-making in the early months of the pandemic. An expert report finalised last month, shows that Clare had the highest incidence in Munster of Covid-19 cases in nursing homes during the first wave of the pandemic. Clare had 176 cluster-related cases in nursing homes, while Limerick had 78, during the same time-frame. Another interim report on the situation was published by the Dáil Special Committee on Covid-19 and, its chairperson, Deputy McNamara said last week’s hearings will inform the recommendations of its final report, which could include a call for a public inquiry into the issue. With close to 1,000 Covid-related deaths in Irish nursing homes in the first wave of the pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Ireland, as a …

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Clare house prices stable, but low volume of transactions

THE number of houses being bought and sold in Clare has been lower since the pandemic struck, but prices appear to be fairly stable. Covid-19 became a part of life during March, but sales held up in that month, with 111 transactions filed in Clare, compared to 110 filed in March of the previous year. However, in April the figure was at 81 compared to 102 in April of 2019. In May, the figure was down to 63, compared to 91 in April of 2019. The June figure was 82, down from 110 in the sme month last year, while in July it was 83, compared to 119 in July 2019. While the volume of sales may have dropped, the mean and median prices don’t seem to have been impacted on very much, being relatively stable according to the figures, which are provided by the CSO. The most recent month for which statistics are available is July and at that …

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Lahinch and Kilkee bask in afterglow of staycation boom

AFTER an unusually warm and sunny weekend, Kilkee was overcast and somewhat autumnal on Monday afternoon. Staycationers were fewer than they had been even 24 hours earlier, but shopkeeper Donal Hayes wasn’t complaining as he said the season which is ending has been the best one for many years. While the pandemic has crippled many businesses and even some entire industries, it has actually helped his shop. “It’s been a huge benefit to us, I hate to say it, but it was. The only poor weekend was Whit weekend, I think that was the way for the whole of the town. The summer was excellent, last weekend was as good as any over the summer. You can see today it has quietened a lot so we’ll see how it goes until the October Bank Holiday Weekend, if we can get the weekends out of it we’ll be very, very happy with that.” Asked if business would have been up five …

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Shannon GP critical of Covid plan ‘chaos and confusion’

A SHANNON GP has hit out the handling of circumstances around the health minister’s Covid-19 test last Tuesday the day it unveiled the new roadmap for living with the virus. Dr Yvonne Williams said that misunderstanding over who should isolate while a contact of theirs is awaiting a test result, smacked of “chaos and confusion”. “The advice is that while someone is awaiting results of a test, their household should restrict their movements,” she explained. “If someone has a positive test, then their contacts are advised to isolate.” On Tuesday, shortly after addressing a press conference on the Living with Covid-19 plan, Minister Stephen Donnelly felt unwell and contacted his GP to arrange a coronavirus test. Following that news, the cabinet, as well as Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn, were told to restrict their movements as a precaution. The Dáil was then adjourned, at first for a period of one week, before being reconvened later on Tuesday evening. …

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Online safety concerns spiral after lockdown school closures

A CLARE-based psychologist has said she has been inundated with concerns from parents over their children’s online activities during the months while the schools were closed. Dr Maureen Griffin is an online safety expert who provides psychological services in the areas of online offending and safety. She also works, at a preventative level, with schools, students and parents. The forensic psychologist has reiterated calls for social media companies to do more to enforce age controls. Dr Griffin also described the availability to children of dangerous content on apps like TikTok as “deeply concerning” and warned we are in danger of creating “a guinea pig generation” in terms of potential online harm. Last week, research from Cyber Safe Ireland showed that, over the last year, 61% of children had been contacted by strangers through online games. TikTok was found to be the most popular app. Despite the fact that it has a minimum age requirement of 13 – three years below …

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Covid plan “entirely vague and unsatisfactory” on aviation

THE Government’s newly published plan for dealing with Covid-19, Resilience and Recovery, had relatively little to say about aviation, and no measure that will bring immediate comfort to Shannon, which is facing the potential loss of Ryanair services for the winter, along with its Aer Lingus transatlantic services. Essentially it proposes that Ireland apply the principles of a European Commission regime to have a common approach to travel within the EU. “It is proposed that Ireland broadly support the European Commission proposals and should continue to engage with Member States and the Commission to develop a regime that is consistent with public health requirements, cognisant of public of resources and capacity, while supportive of our need to support air transport,” it states. Clare TD Michael McNamara was far from pleased with what was set out. “It’s entirely vague and unsatisfactory. It’s almost as if things are going fine and we don’t really need to address this, when, in fact, our …

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Pandemic safeguards to remain in place at UHL ED

SUSPECTED Covid-19 patients continue to be segregated from those who don’t have the disease, a local consultant in emergency medicine has confirmed. Dr Gareth Quin, Lead Consultant in Emergency Medicine for UL Hospitals’ Group has outlined the new processes that are in place in the ED at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) to combat Covid-19: As soon as a person registers in the department, Dr Quin explained they are asked to put on a facemask, if their face is not already covered. The new triage, assessment and admission processes will continue for the duration of the pandemic, along with the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) by staff in the ED, and, in line with the guidance of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the requirement for patients to wear a facial covering. “UHL recognise that for many people the sight of hospital staff in PPE may be disconcerting and the requirement to wear a facial covering may not …

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