Galway COVID-19, local news and discussion

thesandeman

pjohnson wrote: »

I'm facing similar. Older relatives had theirs in their GP but seems I cant? Have to bus/taxi to Ballybrit instead of walking to the GP.

Seems a bit of a joke. I'll wait until I get my appointment and see if I can find a way around it.

Mrs OBumble

thesandeman wrote: »

I don't have my own GP but there's a surgery nine doors from me and another one seventeen doors up the road.

Have you tried to register with a local GP?

thesandeman

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Have you tried to register with a local GP?

Na. I never need one normally.

biko

Bunch of off topic removed. Stay local and on topic please.

For anything not local go here https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1865

_Whimsical_

pjohnson wrote: »

I'm facing similar. Older relatives had theirs in their GP but seems I cant? Have to bus/taxi to Ballybrit instead of walking to the GP.

I have heard of someone in the same position. They rang the HSE,explained and a taxi was sent for them and paid for. A private firm was used so they said it was very safe.

Ficheall

biko wrote: »

Bunch of off topic removed. Stay local and on topic please.

Apologies. I thought the Galway covid thread was appropriate for a q about a covid-themed van spotted in Galway. Did not intend to derail.

Mrs OBumble

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

A private firm was used so they said it was very safe.

Are there any non-private taxi firms? Are they unsafe?

thecretinhop

spike in cases in claregalway linked to secondary school. i have heard rumours of a get together of some sort..

cefh17

<5 in Galway today

JoeA3

thecretinhop wrote: »

spike in cases in claregalway linked to secondary school. i have heard rumours of a get together of some sort..

I heard the same stories, I’m from the area. The rumour was that it came from a Transition-year party and younger siblings of those kids were subsequently mixing in local team sports which have finally resumed. There was talk of communion / confirmations being under threat (again). Another load of hot air imo. It all went quiet again in the last few days and as per the previous post - 5 cases in Galway today. That’s some “spike”.

cefh17

cefh17 wrote: »

<5 in Galway today

17 today, maybe lumpy reporting of cases

Middle Arch closed, again.

https://twitter.com/OwenHanleyLives/status/1398389958591881221?s=19

beardybrewer

We can't have nice things! Just had my lunch there yesterday. We seem unable to ease restrictions AND be sensible about contacts/crowds at the same time.

klr87

VanWildcard wrote: »

Middle Arch closed, again.

https://twitter.com/OwenHanleyLives/status/1398389958591881221?s=19

I just spotted this as I was passing by about an hour ago. I wonder if COVID-19 is the official reason this time, or one of the reasons? The notice I saw was about public consumption of alcohol, not COVID-19, although I might have missed something.

It's a known area for teenagers and twentysomethings to congregate, and that by itself would be perfectly OK were it not for COVID-19. It's the level of alcohol consumption that's historically been the problem, especially on fine evenings. Likewise across the way by the Spanish Arch, although that's rarely as densely packed.

As COVID-19 restrictions ease over the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see what happens. I suspect it will be close again for the bank holiday weekend.

JCX BXC

It's getting ridiculous the restrictions that are imposed. "You can't drive here" "you can't walk here" "you can't do this/that/the other".

While I don't agree with its closure again whatsoever, why can't they just lock it up from 6/7 every evening?

https://twitter.com/patmcgrath/status/1398741928234131460?s=19

Made the mistake of trying to walk the path by the river between the Salmon Weir and O'Briens bridge last night at 10:30, there was such a huge crowd of people blocking the path you actually couldn't get through up near the top and I ended up turning around and walking another way. It felt really unsafe.

A friend who lives nearby said the Gardai showed up at 11pm on the dot so had obviously been waiting to do so but she said that there were so few Gardai at the begining that they essentially couldn't do anything and it took until about 11:45 for the crowd to actually go.

Just walked down O'Briens bridge and there is an fairly big crowd again on that path but they're not blocking the way through this time at least like they were last night. Looks fairly unsafe from a covid POV but you can't close it like Middle Arch because its a path a lot of people use.

They seem to have just moved the problem to other areas. I will be shocked if there isn't a massive covid surge coming

'

Bobeagleburger

Deleted User wrote: »

Made the mistake of trying to walk the path by the river between the Salmon Weir and O'Briens bridge last night at 10:30, there was such a huge crowd of people blocking the path you actually couldn't get through up near the top and I ended up turning around and walking another way. It felt really unsafe.

A friend who lives nearby said the Gardai showed up at 11pm on the dot so had obviously been waiting to do so but she said that there were so few Gardai at the begining that they essentially couldn't do anything and it took until about 11:45 for the crowd to actually go.

Just walked down O'Briens bridge and there is an fairly big crowd again on that path but they're not blocking the way through this time at least like they were last night. Looks fairly unsafe from a covid POV but you can't close it like Middle Arch because its a path a lot of people use.

They seem to have just moved the problem to other areas. I will be shocked if there isn't a massive covid surge coming

'

I'm still waiting for the covid surge since the Salthill mass crowds on the beach. Must be 6 weeks ago now....

IMO, these crowds are more a public safety issue than a Covid issue. Parts of the waterway are very poorly protected, and an accident could happen.

kippy

beardybrewer wrote: »

You may be waiting to no avail. If the incident rate for Galway county is just around 20 there's a good chance a crowd can gather and come away with no spread. That's the thing with crowds, they're not a problem until suddenly they are. Haven't heard one of those super-spreader stories recently but, if they were to be believed, all you need is one super-spreader in the midst of that crowd and your surge will come. Obviously, for the sake of all our summer's, let's hope they get away with it but for how long?

What is the risk (covid wise) though?
How many high risk people still remain to be vaccinated? How many of these crowd have already had Covid in the past 6 months?
It's an outdoor setting - how low is the risk in that setting (granted they are in tight quarters)

The bigger risks are around where these people are going to the toilet, rubbish, and the water risk.

Hospital numbers are low, people in this demographic are more likely to end up in hospital with an alcohol related issue rather than Covid etc etc Ultimately it is about hospital numbers, is it not?

I get that none of this looks good but I would prefer these groups meet outside and in the open air than in multiple large indoor house parties etc (which has been going on up till this point)

beardybrewer

I'm at risk and still waiting to be vaccinated. There are loads of people still waiting. There are also loads of people in at-risk cohorts who still haven't had their second jabs yet. So we're still a ways away from saying those who want protection have it by now.

Then there's the argument that nobody lives in a bubble. So while young people parting may not be concerned about themselves or their friends you have to remember when they go to a shop or go home they may be passing it to someone who may have a bad outcome.

Last, the new Indian variant is 3x more transmissible than the UK variant which was already bad news. Given the crowds and the still, sunny days there is no guarantee being outdoors won't result in a superspreader event. Fingers crossed our luck holds but there's a certain amount of tempting fate going on we could do without.

kippy

beardybrewer wrote: »

I'm at risk and still waiting to be vaccinated. There are loads of people still waiting. There are also loads of people in at-risk cohorts who still haven't had their second jabs yet. So we're still a ways away from saying those who want protection have it by now.

Then there's the argument that nobody lives in a bubble. So while young people parting may not be concerned about themselves or their friends you have to remember when they go to a shop or go home they may be passing it to someone who may have a bad outcome.

Last, the new Indian variant is 3x more transmissible than the UK variant which was already bad news. Given the crowds and the still, sunny days there is no guarantee being outdoors won't result in a superspreader event. Fingers crossed our luck holds but there's a certain amount of tempting fate going on we could do without.

Sorry to hear you haven't gotten the first dose of anything - are you Galway based? Have you done anything to try push along the vaccine for yourself?

biko

Posts about other countries, other cities and posts not related to covid in Galway removed,
Read the title before posting.
Stay covid, stay local.

_Whimsical_

biko wrote: »

Posts about other countries, other cities and posts not related to covid in Galway removed,
Read the title before posting.
Stay covid, stay local.

But latest information on the subject of Covid informs people to alter behaviour as newer information comes to light. Sometimes the general is the particular and this is one of those situations, it avoids problems before they arrive at our door. Keeps all of us safer locally, keeps our shops open, our social lives viable?

My post was a Guardian article about hospitalisations in part of the UK affected by the Indian variant where 50% of those needing care are now vaccinated. That info is just as relevant in Galway as anywhere else in the world relying on vaccination program. A little extra care with that info in mind, particularly in high risk groups, saves local suffering.

saabsaab

I wonder is there anywhere you can see % vaccinated by county etc.? I guess that in theory as it is mainly by age all should be similar if all age groups are equally represented in every county?

saabsaab

saabsaab wrote: »

I wonder is there anywhere you can see % vaccinated by county etc.? I guess that in theory as it is mainly by age all should be similar if all age groups are equally represented in every county?

Since the hack the numbers reporting has been totally borked

We're honestly lucky that we can get totals at the moment

John_Rambo

saabsaab wrote: »

I wonder is there anywhere you can see % vaccinated by county etc.? I guess that in theory as it is mainly by age all should be similar if all age groups are equally represented in every county?

You can request county by county vaccination stats on the HSE website, if enough people request it it may happen.

If you look at the various county threads on boards.ie it's fairly interesting, various experiences and how fast people are being vaccinated, how it's being carried out, what vaccines and who's doing it. It seems fairly steady and equal throughout the country with a few interesting exemptions with one small wealthy area getting amazing expedited vaccinations.

Edit

**note... Just saw Biko's post. If you get any info on other counties or countries don't post it here. Local info only allowed by the mods.. It's their baby.... All non-local posts removed.

JCX BXC

saabsaab wrote: »

I wonder is there anywhere you can see % vaccinated by county etc.? I guess that in theory as it is mainly by age all should be similar if all age groups are equally represented in every county?

You can't even get the national vaccine numbers, nevermind any sort of breakdown.

There's something very wrong about being forced to continue under these restrictions and being refused the data relevant to lifting these.

Disgraceful they're still.not releasing figures. Even if only the vaccine center figures, they need to be released ASAP for transparency. NPHET have enough data to inform the government, why can't they share this with us? The only data the public get are the tidbids they give the media.

Gadgetman496

2.9m vaccines nationwide according to the HSE today.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0603/1225826-watch-latest-hse-covid-19-briefing/

Utopia Parkway

Got my vaccine appointment on Saturday out in Ballybrit. Not ideal on a bank holiday Saturday afternoon as I imagine the traffic could be horrific. Just wondering how long I should give myself driving out from the city centre? And I hear the entrance isn't the main entrance but is at the back of the racecourse or something?

JCX BXC

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Got my vaccine appointment on Saturday out in Ballybrit. Not ideal on a bank holiday Saturday afternoon as I imagine the traffic could be horrific. Just wondering how long I should give myself driving out from the city centre? And I hear the entrance isn't the main entrance but is at the back of the racecourse or something?

You'd be worse going on a midweek evening, give yourself at least 30 minutes to drive out.