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EXCLUSIVE

By Michelle Crean and Sean Moriarty

With one case of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) confirmed in Northern Ireland, a local councillor has warned the Government to take immediate action to prevent its spread - saying it could potentially have far-reaching effects on the tourist industry in the town.

Cllr Donal Grady has also warned that patients would need to be quarantined - and with the current overcrowding situation in Irish hospitals alternative accommodation would have to be sought.

He warned that Killarney could be used as a quarantine centre given the large number of hotels in the town and that many of them have yet to re-open for the upcoming tourist season.

“We need to do what we did in the year of the Foot and Mouth and stop all gatherings of people until this blows over,” he said. “Yes, we will all lose money in the short-term, but if we take action now, we can be open properly in a month’s time.”

Grady was also reacting to the news the Ireland and Italy Six Nations rugby match, scheduled for next weekend, has been postponed. So far, this is the only decisive action taken by a Government agency after the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport officials met with Irish Rugby Union officials this week.

Public information is very unclear and while the Department of Health has issued guidelines there seems to no clear plan, and Grady questioned why other agencies were not taking the same level of action.

“I was with my pharmacist and he has not been advised by the HSE,” added the veteran councillor.

Members of the public are concerned about their own travel plans but when the Killarney Advertiser contacted a number of different Killarney-based travel agencies they declined to comment about the current situation.

A group of 35 from St Brendan’s College returned from a trip to Borneo in Italy near infected region Lombardi, on February 15.

School Principal Sean Coffey told the Killarney Advertiser that as soon as they became aware of the outbreak, they contacted the HSE who put them in touch with the Department of Public Health of specific notifiable diseases.

“The incubation period is between seven and 14 days – the last day is today. We were back the 15^th and the first case was the 21^st. The department advised us what to look for. All parents are aware of where their sons were, and we asked people to report any concerns.”

Local tourism bosses were also reluctant to comment on the situation when asked by the Killarney Advertiser, including members of the Kerry Branch of the Irish Hotel Federation.

However, the national press office for the IHF issued the following statement.

“We are putting in place measures for our members to mitigate the potential risks posed to public health. It is too early to determine the economic impact that the global outbreak will have on our sector.”