People around the country are not taking the risk of bringing coronavirus into the home seriously enough, according to a Cork City GP.
Dr Phil Kieran said stopping the spread of the virus within the household is “incredibly difficult,” warning that it is people who meet other households while suffering symptoms that is “really a big, big problem.”
However, the doctor told The Hard Shoulder there are steps that can be taken if family members or housemates need to isolate.
"The thing is, even if it does get through the whole household, if the household is isolating, that is a dead end for transmission,” he said.
“So, it really is the people who are meeting up with other groups of people.”
He outlined a series of actions every household should consider when a loved one tests positive.
“The biggest thing would be, where possible and practical, to isolate the person who has it,” he said.
“If you have a room with an en-suite bathroom, that is where they should be. Meals should be dropped to the door. It is horrible to ask someone to stay in the same room for two weeks but it is doable.
“If that’s not doable, particularly for people with young kids, you are looking at isolating anyone in the household you can.
“If there is one person who has to leave for work repeatedly, they should isolate away from the people who can’t isolate.
"If the whole household isn’t able to isolate, then they need to isolate as a household. So, doors get closed and bar picking up shopping from the doorstep, that door should not really open again for the next two weeks."
'Not taking risk seriously enough'
This afternoon, there were 1,975 COVID-19 patients in Irish hospitals, with 200 people being treated for their symptoms in intensive care.
Meanwhile, a further 2,121 new cases and eight more virus-related deaths were reported this evening.
Dr Kieran said people are “not taking the risk or the danger of bringing it into the household serious enough.”
He said he has been talking to patients who waited with symptoms for three or four days before contacting for testing.
“This is people with very obvious COVID symptoms,” he said. “Particularly the loss of smell or taste.
“Really what we should be doing is, if you have any degree of a cold, if you have new onset temperature, dry couch, runny nose, blocked nose; you should be treating this as if you have COVID.
“If you are going home to your house, if at all practical or possible, you should be going home to isolate and then looking to get a test done.
“I have a number of patients who have done this and, even with the new variant, it has not spread to the house. It has been restricted to just the one person.
“Is it possible? Yes. Is it happening widely? No. Not at all.”
