Christmas is back on track!
The lockdown has seen the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections plummet across Galway, fuelling renewed hope that families will be able to travel to see loved ones this Christmas.
The Level 5 restrictions will not be lifted earlier than December despite the fall in cases, predicted Tony Canavan, the head of the regional hospital group Saolta.
It was still too early to say which level the Government would opt to drop to once these tightest restrictions were lifted.
“I think we got it right as a country. One of the greatest fears we had was that our health services would be overrun and not be able to cope with the pressures of Covid. In the second wave, hospitals got busier and busier and busier but they never got to a level they couldn’t cope – we haven’t gone over the edge,” Mr Canavan told the Connacht Tribune.
“The balance we’re trying to strike is to get as much of the elective procedures and outpatient appointments done while keeping things safe but the busier you are with Covid, the less you can do, particularly when there’s pressure on the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).
“GUH (Galway University Hospitals) have very complex surgeries and sometimes they need to have backup from ICU in case of complications so the number of patients in ICU is very important from that perspective.”
See full Covid coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital version from www.connachttribune.ie