Crowds in Cork City 'flies in the face' of public health appeals
On Eddie On Crowds Gathered Night Picture: Parade Grand O'hare Saturday
The Lord Mayor of Cork has said that gatherings like the one in the city on Saturday night “put the brakes” on any easing of restrictions.
Large crowds were seen in videos on social media in Cork City and a number of arrests were made.
One member of the gardaí received minor facial injuries during the incident.
Gardaí insisted that most of the public were “overwhelmingly compliant” with public health restrictions.
Speaking to The Opinion Line on 96FM on Monday, Lord Mayor Joe Kavanagh said the gathering “flies in the face” of the appeals for people not to gather in large groups.
Health experts said that scenes in the city were a cause for concern.
Mr Kavanagh said that the retail and hospitality sectors had been starved at footfall and need support, adding that he understands that young people are frustrated and need an outlet, but this isn’t the time.
He said that “large gatherings” like the one on Grand Parade “doesn’t help the situation”.
He added: “I feel sorry for the gardaí, they’ve been run off their feet.”
The Lord Mayor said on Sunday that scenes were "absolutely disgraceful".
Professor Mary Horgan, an infectious disease consultant at Cork University Hospital, said: “On Saturday night there were crowds. That’s the setting in which the virus is transmitted and that is what we want to avoid.
“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.”
--
A video, shot by Ali Hamou, went viral on Saturday night showing the large crowds on Grand Parade.
He told 96FM that the number of people in town on Saturday was “staggering” and that “the majority” were drunk and had been there since the afternoon.
Mr Hamou told the show that around 1,000 people were on the street at around 8pm.
He said he saw people drinking from cans and from cups. “But I can’t tell you where they came from.”
He added that the atmosphere in the city centre has changed in the past two weeks.
He said some people criticised him for putting the video on social media and that he only took it as a bystander.
“My only concern is that we are in the middle of a pandemic and anyone could be a carrier and pass it to others.”
Mr Hamou told the Irish Examiner that there had been similar crowds the previous weekend.
"We will never get out of this lockdown if we keep doing this," he said.