Covid spike fears with 34 new cases

Covid spike fears with 34 new cases

5 August 2020

PEOPLE across the district have been warned against complacency in the fight against the deadly coronavirus.

The appeal comes after confirmation on the Department of Health dashboard that there were 34 new Covid-19 cases recorded across the Newry, Mourne and Down area over the past seven days.

Over the past two weeks, the government dashboard reveals that there have been 45 new cases recorded in the council area, the highest of any local authority in Northern Ireland.

News of the local outbreak comes after confirmation that some businesses in Newcastle and Castlewellan closed for a short time to undertake deep cleans, while a number of sports clubs temporarily suspended all activities.

Newcastle’s Barbican SuperValu store confirmed on Monday that a number of staff members had tested positive for coronavirus and that the premises had been closed in order to fully investigate the issue and contact all employees.

The Dundrum Road store — which reopened yesterday morning — said that contact tracing had taken place with some staff members now isolating for 14 days.

In a statement posted online, the store said the health of its staff and customers was its top priority and that in line with guidance from health experts, the premises was undergoing a professional, deep clean as a precautionary measure.

News of the 34 new cases has prompted politicians to urge people to continue exercising social distancing, wash their hands and wear face masks. They say such behaviour remains critical at a time when some people are ping their guard when it comes to protecting themselves and others.

Politicians say the majority of businesses are doing all they can to ensure the safety of staff and customers but are concerned that some people are “slipping back into their old ways” and are not taking the same precautions they were at the start of the pandemic in mid-March.

In addition, politicians are urging Newry, Mourne and Down Council to work alongside the district’s business community to try and improve awareness and messaging around the virus with appeals for more people to download the new Covid tracking app. There has also been a call for increased police patrols in towns and large stores.

Politicians believe that localised Covid outbreaks are likely to continue. They are keen to be given more detail about local outbreaks to help prevent the spread of “fear and misinformation,” but health chiefs have insisted that they do not comment on individual cases.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) has reiterated that it does not comment on individual cases of Covid-19 or go into the detail of every incident that emerges as it could lead to people being identified, create stigma and focus attention on individuals, families or groups, deterring others with symptoms from coking forward to be tested.

“As we move through the coronavirus pandemic, clusters of cases are expected,” said the Agency. “That is why the test, trace and protect programme is in place to help ensure that people are tested when symptoms emerge and their contacts traced quickly if they receive a positive result, to help prevent further spread.”

At Monday night’s virtual monthly meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down Council there was across-the-board political support for a motion tabled by Rowallane councillor Kathryn Owen — who recently spent time working on a Covid ward at Craigavon Hospital — calling for greater information from the Department of Health and PHA in relation to localised outbreaks. 

She argued that in the wake of recent reports about a suspected outbreak in the Rowallane area which had a major impact on businesses, the downturn in footfall could have been avoided if elected representatives had been provided with more specific information.

Cllr Owen said the provision of a dedicated helpline for councillors would enable them to know what is going on in their respective areas and help allay local fear and concern.

She said that with “misinformation comes rumour and speculation,” making it clear that she was not asking for house numbers or road names from health officials when there is an outbreak, but greater levels of information than are currently provided to help ensure that towns and villages are not implicated wrongly as having positive cases.

Politicians believe that the availability of more local information can help inform people what steps are being taken by the relevant bodies in their respective areas if there is a confirmed outbreak. 

They have appealed to the PHA to provide clearer guidance following the outbreak of suspected Covid-19 cases to ensure people are provided with clear advice and to stop rumours and false information which sends fear and anxiety through the district.