CoVid-19 Part VIII - 292 cases ROI (2 deaths) 62 in NI (as of 17th March) *Read OP*

Some bits of info I've picked up and experienced in the past week. I know there are other health care professionals here too. If anybody thinks I should remove this by all means I will. I'm going to be as vague as possible.

The ambulance service is inundated with calls for respiratory problems the past 5 days. Slightly busier than normal but this may vary from region to region. All of these calls are getting an ambulance. These are 999 calls and not HSElive referrals.

Lower acuity and non urgent calls are being asked to make alternative arrangements. Only those who really push for an ambulance are getting it for these calls.

There's a seperate team doing the swabbing: For a certain province (not going to specify) there was over 300 calls waiting for swabbing. Some of them are sitting there well over 24 hours. We don't have enough resources to get to them all immediately.

The hospitals, A&E's and wards are empty. I said this last week, but so many wards have only 5-10 patients on them. It's eerily quiet, I was chatting to some nurses and they're really uncomfortable with the atmosphere (as am I). Feels like calm before the storm.

One A&E only got 3 walk in admissions in an 8 hour time span according to a nurse. Ambulance arrivals remain somewhat similar but mostly for respiratory problems.

There's also talk at the moment that another doctor in a certain hospital has tested positive in recent days. They were working in a specialist area treating vulnerable people the past week.