In a joint message, HSE management in the Cork region are appealing to the public to continue to stay home in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 and ease pressure on the entire health system.

Acting Director of Public Health for the region, Dr Anne Sheahan said that her department can see that the people of Cork are heeding public health advice to stay at home and to avoid contact with anyone outside their households. However, the effort needs to be sustained in order  to bring the spread of Covid-19 in the region under control.

The number of close contacts reported to us by people confirmed to have Covid-19 has dropped from an average of just over six to an average of just over two in more recent days. This shows us that people are really heeding the advice, and we will eventually see the impact of this. We understand that it difficult, but it is the only way to bring Covid-19 rates back to a level which don’t threaten to over-whelm the entire health system, Dr Sheahan said.

Dr Sheahan said that great credit is due to people of all ages who are staying home and keeping their communities safe.

I want to thank everyone for what they have done and ask them to keep it up. Please stay at home as much as you can, she said.

For those who need to leave their homes, Dr Sheahan asked them to remember two things:

• If you are leaving home for exercise, it must be within 5kms of your home.
• If you are outside, remember to wear a face covering

“Don’t presume that the people you meet don’t have Covid-19. In fact, the likelihood is that if you are out of your home, you will easily meet someone who have Covid-19 but hasn’t yet been diagnosed,” she said.

Michael Fitzgerald, Chair of the HSE Area Crisis Management team, said that the health service as a whole is under significant pressure due to the high number of people with Covid-19 needing care. The HSE area crisis management team meets several times a week to co-ordinate the service’s response to the pandemic.

We are appealing to everyone to continue to stay at home.  If you are leaving the house, ask yourself if this is a trip that you really need to make or can it be avoided. Even after the rates of Covid-19 in the region start to drop, we will still be dealing with the impact on the health service for a long time afterwards. We all have a role to play right now in protecting our hospitals, our nursing homes and our healthcare workers, he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said that with roll-out of a vaccination programme underway, there is hope on the horizon.

The vaccine will help us bring this pandemic under control. But we need to hold firm and hold the line for another while, so that we get everybody safely to a point when it is widely available and taken up and has  a chance to be effective.

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