A Professor is urging the public to take the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak seriously and follow expert advice to help prevent the spread of infection.
Dr. Patrick Mallon, Infectious Diseases specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital, said that social distancing is vital in the coming weeks for Ireland to reduce the severity of the outbreak.
Dr Mallon, who has family in Donegal, shared his perspective on the disease in an informative video which is being widely shared across social media. The 13-minute video answers key questions and outlines the facts of the pandemic.
Dr Mallon’s main message is for every person to heed the advice of health officials and government:
“Take this seriously. The government is taking really radical measures and it’s causing a huge amount of disruption, but they have taken it for a reason,” he said.
In the interview with TV presenter Baz Ashmawy, Dr Mallon said that people need to look at Italy to visualise what could happen in the weeks to come if non-pharmaceutical interventions are not followed.
As the UCD Professor of Microbial Diseases, Dr Mallon holds the leading academic role in Infection in the UCD School of Medicine. He took time yesterday to answer common questions about visiting relatives, social distancing, children, self-isolating and speculation on vaccines.
One measure every person can take, he said, is to stop large gatherings to slow down the spread of the infection.
“This virus doesn’t care who you are, and it will take an opportunity to spread. The faster that spread happens the more chance it’s going to impact older people and vulnerable people and the more chance you’re going to get overwhelmed,” Dr Mallon said.
The video has been widely praised on social media for its simplicity and no-nonsense explanation of the virus. It is being shared on behalf of The Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland.
More information on Covid-19 is available on hse.ie