Coronavirus in Ireland/N Ireland

[beanaseireann]

The first case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in Northern Ireland.
A passenger travelled from Italy to the North via Dublin.
I don't know how we will cope in the Republic if we have large numbers ill with the virus as our health service is already at breaking point.

The students who live in the Holy Lands area of Belfast go buck mad on St Patricks day drinking and fighting in the street, literally hundreds of them. Probably not all students tbf.

Name changed so I can post in here.
I'm from and live in Derry.
Bars, restaurants and community organisations are closing across the town.
Publicans and restaurant owners are being proactive to protect their staff and customers which is great. These include some of the most popular bars in the town so to close for paddy's day is a big deal.
Really seemed to hit home when I seen these closures.
Yet the schools remain open🙄🙄

Also, a friend works for the PSNI and they're planning on going ahead with the big launch of their policing plan. An event which will have 70 + people at it and they're serving a buffet! A bloody buffet!!!! They may as well lick the door handles on the way in😷

Oh sorry Coco, live a long way from there. Thought you were referring to an Israel/Palestinian issue!

Urggghhhh quicknamechange.

I am not going to work today, in a small business. I think I might just have retired,as I don't know if we will reopen ever.

Just dropped DC off at school, there were half the usual number of cars so it will be interesting to hear how many of her class were in.

People are ignoring the UK Govt and going into full lockdown mode anyway, that’s my sense of it.

I am going now to meet with the accountant and HR lady to talk through the implications of closing the restaurant for god knows how long.

I also have shooting pains in my chest and arms so hopefully I’m not taking a heart attack from stress on top of everything else.

First day at the whole homeschooling thing. We are 15 minutes in and I'm already fit to kill them 🙈

Good grief Linwin I hope you're ok

Oh Linwin, I hope you're OK.

I'm self employed and am expecting to have £8K of work cancelled today. I keep reminding myself there are people worse off, but sometimes the wave of financial panic is a bit overwhelming.

Dr Gabriel Scally was on the radio ( he investigated the Cervical Check tragedy)
He is currently Professor of Public Health
at Bristol University.
He thinks the British Government, who are going against most countries response to the virus, are wrong in their approach.
He believes the Irish governments approach is better.
A very interesting interview but I can't remember was it on Newstalk or RTE 1 radio as I was listening to both this morning.
Anyone do links ?

Oh linwin I hope you’re ok. I know you have stuff you need to do today but try and take breathers in between it all- keep your breathing calm. Sorry- patronising shit. Just look after yourself.

We are 15 minutes in and I'm already fit to kill them

I say DC down and told them this is likely to be several weeks minimum so we’ll all have to have patience with each other. 5 minutes later: “stop breathing so loud” “do you want me to DIE??”

Give me strength!

Also on no income here now (self employed) so I’m making a list of everything possible I can do to get money in while we’re stuck at home.

Queueing at my local pharmacy in a shopping centre, kept outside the door and a staff member limiting the number of customers from going in.

Thinking of you linwin.

I'm also SE & losing income this week & probably for the foreseeable. Dh still on train to work & said conductor got off train this morn to take a photo of the station as it was so quiet.

I've only had dc watch a storybots so far as went for milk/bread basics for older parents & friends this morn. Someone at nutts corner bought 17 large sacks of potatoes yest! Apparently for her & 2 dc family. Crazy. No toilet roll or anti bac spray etc at small local grocery/filling station & they said it's been mad.

I'm wondering if I'm being lulled into a false sense of security. It's weird waiting for mad bad news from hospital & lockdown etc.

Just a wee reminder to make sure your homes and cars are secure. It’s likely theft and burglaries will increase while people are out of work/struggling for money and also just opportunists who have more time on their hands.

Gabriel Scally lived round the corner from me years ago. He lived in a nice big Victorian villa, I lived in a wee terrace! I despair of the student riots every year, right outside where we lived.
Dh was saying Joe Brolly was tweeting from Derry courthouse about no sanitisers and personal searching.

I saw on twitter that a mother up the North is taking the government/education authority?? To court of their refusal to shut the schools.

I work in a small but busy outpatients clinic. We had someone in last week we had to send home with suspected coronavirus. I have requested that we be allowed to move away from the reception desk as there are self check ins and automated calls for patients so no need for us to be based there, and was told no in no uncertain terms. The trust is giving us no extra guidance and people are phoning us for answers we don't have. Feeling very expendable.

That’s really shit SuDaji

What reason did they give for not allowing you to stay back from the reception area? Keep a written record of things like this.

@SuDaji have you big printouts saying if you have a cough stay home etc? Crazy that you'd need to-who hasn't seen the news?!

Hoping they get better with you soon. Would have thought most non urgent out patients would self cancel anyway

Absolutely no reason given, just told "carry on as normal". Luckily I do have this all in writing. Manager apparently not impressed that I even floated the idea. Don't want to be alarmist obviously, but many of us in the team live with ill or immunocompromised people so obviously we want to protect ourselves and our families as well as our patients.

I fully expect us to wind down in the next couple of weeks tbh, and maybe only see urgent referrals. It would be the sensible thing to do if you ask me. Nothing life or death through our department.

At least I will get full pay if I'm unwell, really feel for those who don't have that security at the minute.

Would it be helpful if posters let us know what part of Ireland they're in as they post as policies regarding Covid19 are different in the two jurisdictions. ???

Peter Weir standing by decision not to close schools. On Evening Extra.

@Buckeejit I'm in a village near you. Hadn't heard of any local cases. But I reckon hundreds are currently incubating.

My DH is naively (in my view) trusting the Gov and Public Health Agency advice. I'm not comfortable DC attending school. But they are.

So I'm a teacher in a SEN school in Belfast (Currently closed for at patricks day and presumably longer to pupils although that may change after the insistence on schools staying open) but I get the flu jab for asthma as do several of my colleagues. Our kids are early years so if schools stay open we cannot physically socially distance if I am required to go to work.