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THE HSE HAS warned today that if people take risks by meeting up with others over the coming week, they should stay away from older or vulnerable relatives at Christmas time.
Professor Martin Cormican, the national lead for health care associated infection and antimicrobial resistance, told a press conference today that if you’re meeting people indoors it should only be people you “trust with your life”.
He said: “Be honest with yourself about the risk you’re taking… If you’re going to be worried and upset about that risk for 14 days after, is it really worth it?”
Professor Cormican was speaking as the HSE said today that what happens over the Christmas period will be a determining factor in what happens in our hospitals in January.
With restrictions on inter-county travel and household visits lifting tomorrow, HSE CEO Paul Reid said he hopes people are “on a maximum level of watch”.
He said the situation in the North – where many hospitals are now beyond capacity – “gives us a stark reminder” of how rapidly a situation can deteriorate. He particularly pointed to the lag effect in terms of higher case numbers translating into hospitalisations.
Although restrictions around household visits and travel are being relaxed, public health figures have urged the public to be sensible and keep their contacts to a minimum to limit the spread of Covid-19 over Christmas.
The HSE today released an online contact calculator so people can keep track of the amount of contacts they have over Christmas.
Running through the HSE’s advice, Professor Cormican said the surest ways to avoid catching Covid-19 were to “not meet anyone, not meet anyone outside your household, not meet anyone outside your household indoors”.
He said this was “the harsh reality” of the matter.
Failing that, the advice was also to “meet the smallest number of people indoors” and “only meet people you trust with your life indoors”.
If you are having people in your house, the advice is the “fewer the safer”. Furthermore, the advice is also to check that everyone who plans to come has no symptoms on the day and in the days running up to the visit.
When they arrive, they should be greeted with hand sanitiser or soap and water. Other advice includes keeping distance, wearing masks and opening windows.
Cormican added that the bigger the indoor bubble, the bigger the risk of developing Covid-19.
“The virus doesn’t know it’s Christmas,” he added. “If we give it a break, it’ll take it.”
With reporting from Michelle Hennessy
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Arrived at 7 for a gig that starts at 7 says it all really. I arrived at 6 and was in my seat with beer in hand at 6:30
@ciaran o dowd: Ciaran, don’t be coming on here with your common sense and telling people to be organised, it deflects from their agenda of blaming everyone else for their lack of getting to the stadium on time…
@ciaran o dowd: I wouldn’t call that rockshore p*ss a beer ;)
@Denis Conroy: did you read the whole article ?? I agree about being there on time but women had to leave the whole concert to use the toilet then go through the whole re-entry process. Sounds badly organised to me.
howyafixed prefers fruit in his beer get with the programme croke Park.
@Denis Conroy: the women couldn’t piss anywhere
@Sean Money:
Vulgaris
@Howyafixed: very true
@Fred Quinn: I was in the lower Cusack, as well as the normal toilets there were a bank of portaloo toilets along a wall, it seemed well organised in my area anyway, obviously don’t know about the rest of the stadium.
@Fred Quinn: No I didn’t read the whole article… headline, straight to comments, leave comment and back to work, my boss doesn’t pay me to be reading journal articles all day… As for the women’s toilet issue that’s a problem at every big event, the men’s toilets will be nearly always empty and women’s queueing for an age, I’m sure most would agree an adequate amount portaloos would do the men and let the women’s use the men’s toilets which could also have portaloos along where the urinals are but that never happens…
@ciaran o dowd: in fairness it seems only the red route was affected and it was very bad and dysfunctional, the first time I have seen that in Croke park, or anywhere else, ever. It was very bad, very poor stewards if you could find one outside, lots of them inside. Seems they just went missing. I was in the Q at 5.30 relaxed , got to seat at 6.40, a lot of people behind me didn’t make the 7.15 start when he came on. Haven’t said that it was , that apart, a magnificent show, and the weather , well!
Walked in at 5, seat and beer by 5:30. Left after the show and made our train home. Trouble free if you gave plenty of time.
It’s an Irish thing. People ALWAYS arrive late. Leinster Northampton had to be delayed. People always arrive late to All-Ireland finals. This probably isn’t Croke Parks fault. It’s probably not the stewards fault. It’s the peoples fault for arriving late. “Ah just one more pint then we will head down”. Concert starts at 7? Then aim to arrive at 6 at the latest.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: folk assume concerts don’t start on time, that was very true 20 years ago but not anymore, times are strictly followed
@Jason Walsh:
Except this one didn’t…. Kicked off about 7.15.
@Regular John: because the place was half empty at 07:00
@Fr. Fintan Stack: So it should be too!!!
@Fr. Fintan Stack:
½ empty ? Not at all !
People are out of their minds with self righteousness and entitlement at the moment. Watched Attack on Wembly last night. These events are becoming massively challenging to organise and police. As a poster above said: Arrived at 7 for a gig at 7. Ffs
For people all over the pit, Hogan, Canal/Davin, it was a breeze. Hence why we see a lot commenting that “it was fine”.
However 1 of the routes, red I believe, which mainly covered pitch standing and some of the Cusack Stand, they bottlenecked everyone into a single 2 metres wide entrance on St.James Avenue/Clonliffe Road. This primarily seems to have caused the majority of it, as people elsewhere seemed to have a handy enough trek in.
@Cathal Carr:
I went in the red route, no problems at all. Sitting in the Cusack with beer in hand at 6.30
People can’t arrive on time, then blame someone else.
Others complain about the quality and price of the drinks. Don’t drink then! You can enjoy a concert without booze, try it sometime.
@Fran Ken: Technically there’s no arguing with this statement. But on a sunny evening, summer gig – the bar isn’t so much calling as writing you a poem, put to music with a choir of angels on harmonies!
Absolutely chaotic last night …the stewards hadn’t a clue ..on all Ireland final day 80,000 plus fans get in to the stadium without a problem…maybe in future let the GAA stewards handle it…
@Derek Carroll: Just be in time.
@Alex: there at 6;30 .took 50 mins to get in
No joined-up strategic thinking as per & under-trained staff. How many times?………….
Arrived at 6:30 and was in my seat by 7. Fantastic concert and I wouldn’t be his biggest fan.
Was at foster terrace at 6.15, 200 MTRS from the Cusack stand.
Was not able to get onto the pitch until 7.45 .no knowledge from the stewards or ability to use obvious entrances to the pitch below the Cusack.
Great Show though what I saw of it .
@Mick Scanlan: left a bar at 630…strolled past all the queues and on into the stadium via red route, foster terrace, no issues. Thankfully for me the majority were obident, almost single file que that stretched for what seemed like 2 km. They got me back though by refusing to allow me into the stadium with drinks in plastic cups.
Typical Ireland, couldn’t organise a p**s up in a brewery.
@The Firestarter: it’s the government’s fault lol
Get back to the Small venues where MUSIC belongs
@RIP: How many small venues can hold the 80,000 fans who saw Springsteen? Maybe he should play The Brazen Head for a fortnight and bring the entire city to a standstill?
The streets of drumcondra
Springsteen is some operator. Found the queueing OK as we were there at 445 but the only drawback was that p*ss rockshore canned beer. 330ml and about 7euro a pop! Great night though. BRUUUUUUUUUCE!
It wasn’t that bad
Not everyone was arriving at 7! It was mostly red route to the pitch that seemed to be poorly planned. We were trying to get in from 5:45 , missed him coming on stage . It was chaotic.
@kathy: you’re absolutely right. The red route was like a flock of sheep herded down a sideroad that could cope
Probably all southsiders who got lost crossing the Liffey or got off at the wrong DART station. Great little country too, 80,000 there last night and the country is broke
Lansdowne Road is much, much easier to get into than Croker.
@Ian McDonald:
Assuming you mean the Aviva, it holds 30,000 less than Croker.
It is ways somebody else’s fault.
Everyone’s fault apart from the idi#t that didn’t show up on time . I arrived at about 6 and was in my seat with coffee in hand at 6.20pm .. arrive for concert a 7 and complaining says it all really
@john diggly:
More importantly, who goes to a rock concert and drinks coffee ?
have your say