05 July 2021
Sinn Féin Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has given an update on the Covid-19 outbreak in West Waterford, and commended the community, the public health team, and the National Ambulance Service for their response to date.
McGuinness said:
“There has been a huge response from the community locally, with well over 10% of the population attending for a test over the past ten days. People are taking this situation seriously and acting responsibly to protect themselves and their community.
“We want our community to be safe, and we want to see West Waterford fully open this summer.
“Thanks to everyone that has shown their support and played their part – those looking after relatives, those isolating, the 2000+ who presented for testing, the businesses and clubs that took difficult decisions in the interests of protecting the community, and the national ambulance service personnel doing trojan work in the test centre.
“I have been in regular contact with the HSE over the past fortnight through my role on the Regional Health Forum.
“As recently as Friday afternoon I was engaging with Ms. Kate Killeen-White, the Chief Officer of the HSE in the South East, to ask that the testing centre would remain open into this week.
“Although the HSE has decided not to open the test centre this week they will continue to monitor the situation closely They have committed to re-open if required.
“The test centre at Kilcohan in Wateford remains open 7 days a week. If you need a test but cannot travel to Kilcohan call 1800 700 700 and the HSE may be able to offer you an at-home test.
“I believe we are coming very close to controlling this outbreak. Testing, tracing and a doubling down on the basic precautions should see us overcome it. “
Cllr. Conor D. McGuinness 