Time for everyone to take on board how dangerous Covid-19 is pleads Councillor Owen.
Media footage across the UK is revealing that many people are not adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines set out by government trying to address the increasing number of cases being recorded.
Today a governmnet adviser described the situation as very serious and that the virus could explode “exponentially.”
Rowallene Councillor Kathryn Owen, trained nurse, spent weeks on several Covid and non-Covid wards at the start of this pandemic and has seen first hand the devastation caused by this disease.
Cllr Owen briefly paused her medical doctorate studies for a PhD and her role as a local councillor in order to return to the coal face and help the NHS deal with with this deadly virus. Kathryn is also the DUP health representative for Newry Mourne and Down Council.
Speaking about the increase in the virus in our communities, Cllr Owen said: “I have grave concerns over what I see on social media. The blatant disregard for advice and some are finding it a laughing matter.
“Some of the content I have read online would quite honestly be better placed in a fairytale book.
“We may not like these restrictions, and this disease may be a complete pain for us, but we need to do everything we possibly can to save the most vulnerable people in society.
“It is testament to everyone’s hard work that the number of older individuals testing positive is currently low, but these numbers are rising, and this is when things are now getting serious. I am not scaremongering. The figures are online for all to see.
“I have seen people aged 35 and over struggle with this disease. It’s no laughing matter. To explain the devastation it causes to a family is hard to express. It would be unwise to be flippant about Covid-19.
“People seem to keep comparing it to flu… this is not a flu. If left to its own devices with no restrictions in place, it will travel through our community like wildfire.
“Just factor in that we are also approaching the flu season, well, the consequences of the two illness on our health trusts doesn’t bear thinking about.
“County Down may have escaped a localised increase of restrictions but now is not a time for complacency.
“As someone who has faced this virus head-on, I beg you to take it more seriously.”
There is a growing indication that Covid-19 is also progressively now affecting people in a middle and younger age range.
