Covid-19: GP says we must get used to changes 'until immunity is gained'
Professor Liam Glynn of the medical school at the University of Limerick and a GP in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare, who has been mapping the progress of the Covid-19 virus, has said that while there has been some stabilising of the number of deaths, there are still a significant number of new cases every day.
“This is still a big number, we have to get it lower,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
Prof. Glynn said it was like a game with all to play for. “A deadly game”.
The expansion of care into assessment centres means that GPs are now “stepping into the fire,” he said. If the government had not acted when it did and how it did and if the public had not responded then the situation would have been far worse with many more deaths, he said.
That’s where the battle was won - what we do as individuals every day.
The numbers have to be suppressed so that the health service is not overloaded, he added. While a 5% growth rate (down from 30% at one stage), might seem low, he said, it was still “a big number” and 20% of those people would have to be hospitalised and five per cent would need ventilators.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
“We all need to get used to the changes, to the physical and social distancing measures until immunity is gained and that will either be through getting the virus and recovering or through a vaccine.”
Prof. Glynn said there will be a lot of important decisions to make in the future.
- Shop for essential food and household goods;
- Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products;
- Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits;
- Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people
- Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice physical distancing
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