Coast Guard banned from taking part in viral Jerusalema dance challenge amid Covid fears

Dingle Coast Guard’s Jerusalema dance challenge. Via YouTube

Coast Guard volunteers have been told not to gather during lockdown to take part in the Jerusalema dance challenge which has taken the world by storm.

Units nationwide have been told that based on a risk assessment, all unnecessary gatherings for non-essential purposes have been suspended and that such gatherings increase the organisation’s risk-rating and could weaken its ability to maintain its “operational status”.

Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds, who is on secondment to an EU mission in Somalia to build its maritime, civilian, and law enforcement capability, took to Twitter to question the stance from headquarters.

“Not sure how I view this. Common sense or nannyism?” he said.

The dance routine was designed to lift spirits during lockdown. It went viral here after Swiss police challenged gardaí to respond to their video.

The Coast Guard banned its units from taking part though in a memo issued on Monday, the same day as a video of members of Dingle Coast Guard’s Jerusalema dance challenge effort was posted on social media.

The video features volunteers, all wearing masks and all observing social distancing guidelines, dancing at several stunning coastal locations near Dingle.

The memo, seen by the Irish Examiner, said that Coast Guard headquarters has had “several requests” from units to participate in unit dance videos since the weekend.

Not permitted

It said it is not permitted for units to "assemble personnel to produce dance videos for social media or indeed to gather for any reason other than for reasons central to a unit’s operational objectives".

“Should the likelihood of exposure to Covid-19 unnecessarily increase this may adversely affect our ability to retain our operational status and to continue with the limited return to training exercises.

“Our primary aim throughout this pandemic has been to maintain our operational readiness to respond to SAR taskings.

“Thus far we have achieved this and it is imperative that each of us continues this disciplined and methodical approach towards safeguarding the core objective."

In a statement this evening, the Department of Transport said there is huge appreciation for the sacrifices and contribution of Coast Guard volunteers since the start of the pandemic.

Some 900 Coast Guard volunteers across 44 units have continued to deliver maritime search and rescue services and Covid-related community support services, a spokesperson said.

The safety of these volunteers has been the number one priority of the Irish Coast Guard during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Coast Guard’s volunteers often engage in social events, community events, school education visits, and other similar events, and the Coast Guard always encourages these types of activities," she said.

"However, in support of the decision to ensure units prioritise their availability to respond to emergencies, the Coast Guard has, on this occasion, requested that units do not engage in these types of activities during the pandemic."

However, the Coast Guard has updated its advice to members saying that they can get involved in the Jerusalema challenge as long as they are filmed individually and comply with public health guidelines.