The number of calls related to Covid-19 began to rise again in the past week, a Galway-based GP has reported.
Dr Brian Osborne told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that while calls to his practice had peaked in the first week of January and then dropped, they had increased again over the last week.
He said the level of household transmission of the virus was of particular concern. In his practice they knew of six positive cases in one family.
“The attack rate of the virus has changed,” he said.
Dr Osborne said the current level of traffic on the roads was “really concerning” and while the majority of people were adhering to public health guidelines, there were still many out walking on Salthill Prom and having coffee with friends.
He called on people not to go out walking with friends and to stay at home.
He encouraged people to call their GP if they had any symptoms of the virus, no matter how trivial, and said that they should consider that they had Covid-19 until it is proven otherwise.
Fear
If they had any non Covid illness they should also call their GP, he said. “We are here to see patients.”
There was “a huge amount of fear and anxiety” among patients, he said. “This is taking a huge toll on the public.”
On the same programme, Mayo-based Dr David McNeill said his practice was seeing a lot of “sicker patients” presenting.
“They are quite sick by the time they get to us and require hospitalisation,” he said.
It was very important to keep GP practices open to deal with Covid-19 and other illnesses, Dr McNeill said. Keeping patients out of hospitals was the best way to utilise GPs, he said.
