MAYOR of the City and County of Limerick has called on the people of Limerick to once again show their true Limerick spirit to help reduce the rates of COVID-19 infections in the city and county. With Limerick having steadily grown to the countries covid neclues in the past few weeks
Mayor Michael Collins was speaking following a meeting with Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly which was attended by Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health, HSE Mid-West, along with other public representatives.
The meeting discussed the steep rise in positive COVID-19 rates over the past few weeks in Limerick.
Since the 16 May, there have been 970 cases in Limerick with an incidence rate now of 425 per 100,000 of population, more than two and a half times the next highest county in the country.
There were 75 new cases confirmed today [Fri 04 June 2021].
Outbreaks are across the city and county with indoor social gatherings driving the majority of outbreaks.
More than 100 cases in 40 workplaces are currently under investigation, while there have also been school outbreaks driven by activities outside of school.
There has also been a very strong community response to testing with more than 15,000 tests carried out at the two Limerick centres since 16 May.
Mayor Michael Collins said: “The people of Limerick have shown true spirit and resilience over the past 12 months or so, but the message from the Minister and the Chief Medical Officer was stark. We cannot be complacent. We all need to make some simple changes in relation to adherence to the health guidelines to help stop the rise in cases.”
“However, I’m confident that everyone will step up to the plate and follow the health guidelines and we can help stem the tide. The time for action is now.”
“The situation where we find ourselves in, just indicates that regardless of vaccines, that COVID is still very much in our community, and while we might not be infected ourselves, our actions could result in our friends and family not being so lucky. We must protect our loved ones.”
It is mostly occurring in people who are in the unvaccinated age groups, right across the ages from young children, right the way up to people close to 50.
During this time of high transmission people who are waiting their turn for their COVID-19 vaccine should keep their social contacts as low as possible.
They key messages are for people to:
- Avoid Crowds
- Wear a Face Covering
- Wash your Hands
- Maintain your Social Distance
- Socialise Outdoors
Following the meeting with the Minister, Mayor Collins chaired a special briefing for Councillors. There he outlined out the stark message given by the Minister and HSE teams and how the good work done by the people of Limerick could be undone very quickly if we don’t follow the simple rules.
These key messages were endorsed unanimously by the councillors who all urged that each one of us to take responsibility for our own actions and follow the health guidelines.
The special Council briefing also heard that there will be increased Garda visibility over the weekend and an appeal to landlords, especially in the Castletroy area, to be more aware of their tenants with regards the health guidelines.
Councillors were told that there are no plans at present to alter the current timetable for re-opening our economy, with the hospitality sector due to re-open from 07 June.
