‘Carnival’ atmosphere in Cork: Larger groups are a serious concern, says one of the leading health experts

CORK: One of the leading health experts at Cork University Hospital (CUH) said that gathering people in large numbers is a serious “cause for concern.”

Professor Mary Horgan, an infectious disease consultant said the concern was sparked by scenes of hundreds of people thronged at Cork City Center over the weekend in a ‘carnival’ atmosphere.

It was this past Saturday night that the crowd flocked at Cork City Center despite the Level 5 restrictions. Prof. Mary Horgan said that it is in these circumstances that the virus spreads most, and that’s what we want to avoid. She also said public health advice was clear to reduce contacts and avoid crowds.

“It’s never good to be pointing fingers at people but these are the basics we’ve all had to live by the past few weeks,” Prof. Horgan said.

Being outdoors while in a family unit or bubble can help alleviate some of the risks, but large groups can cause anxiety, she said.

However, gardaí said that majority of the public were overwhelmingly compliant with public health restrictions, even though nine minor public order arrests were made on Saturday.

Meanwhile, one of the city’s leading publicans, Ernest Cantillon, said forcing people to reduce their social interaction over Christmas into a week or two runs the risk of causing large crowds to congregate.

“If people are going to go out, pubs and restaurants are safe environments. This craic about squeezing festivities into a week or two weeks [at Christmas], you’re going to have the same amount of people who want to go out but with way less capacity so you’ll end up with more people on the streets,” he added.