Surge in Covid in Tipperary puts pressure on test centres
Cases of Covid are surging due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, placing unprecedented pressure on the two test centres within the county for the disease in Nenagh and Clonmel.
In recent days eyewitnesses reported traffic backlogs as far back as Kenyon Street in Nenagh as motorists tried to gain entry to the test centre, situated on the old Castle Brand factory site in Tyone.
Cars waiting to enter the centre were backed up over the railway bridge and into the town centre, with the huge increase in people seeking tests prompting one Tipperary councillor to call on the HSE to open another test centre in the county.
Thurles based Independent councillor Jim Ryan said the two existing centres in Clonmel and Nenagh could not cope with the huge numbers currently turning up and he urged the HSE to establish a third test centre in his home town.
He said Thurles, located right in the middle of the county, would be the perfect place for an extra centre.
Meanwhile, The Guardian is aware of a number of unvaccinated people living in Nenagh and surrounding areas - one man in his 50s and another in his 60s - who have died with Covid over recent weeks.
The sad news emerged as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn urged those not yet vaccinated to reconsider. “It is never too late; please come forward and avail of it as, without it, you are at risk of very significant illness if you are exposed to the virus," Dr Glynn stated in a tweet.
This week the vaccination centre at the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh has been catering for large numbers of people between the ages of 16 and 29 who are currently receiving boosters. Walk-in clinics have been taking place at the hotel from 1.30pm to 7pm in recent days.
Public health officials in the Mid West are warning the public to be extra vigilant as fears grow over the capacity of hospitals to cope with patients being admitted with the disease.
They said they had yet to see the true impact of the Christmas and New Year celebrations on hospitals in north Tipperary, Limerick and Clare.
In a statement the HSE in the Mid West urged people in the three counties “to limit social contacts” during New Year celebrations.
Specialist for public health medicine in the region, Dr Rose Fitzgerald stated: “Due to the current high levels of infection in the community in Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary, any social encounter increases our risk of infection.”
Dr Fitzgerald, urged anyone who is eligible for a booster vaccine to avail of it.
Public Health Mid West stated that that the daily cases of the disease in the region had more than doubled in the days after Christmas and it expected to see “a further significiant increase in Covid-19 across all age groups in the community in the coming days and weeks due to the impact of social activity over the holiday period and the presence of the Omicron variant”.
SURGERIES DEFERRED
Covid-related staff absenteeism at the UL Hospitals Group has led to the deferral of the majority of scheduled surgery and outpatient appointments this week at five hospitals in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary.
The group’s chief executive, Colette Cowan, said the deferral would take effect from Tuesday to Friday of this week at University Hospital Limerick (UHL); Ennis General Hospital; Nenagh General Hospital; St John’s Hospital; and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. Services at University Maternity Hospital Limerick, where visiting restrictions were announced on Thursday last due to an outbreak of Covid-19, will not be affected, she said.
“The high levels of Covid-19 infection across our communities is having a significant impact on staffing levels and therefore it is imperative that we take the necessary precautions to ensure that time-critical and emergency care can go ahead,” Ms Cowan said.