A Galway woman has set up a website which collates all the must know information on the coronavirus and Covid-19 disease.
Maria O’Donnell who is from Woodstock, Bushypark, in the city says she was inspired to found Coronavirus Ireland so that fake rumours circulating around on social media about the Covid-19 could be dispelled.
Ms O’Donnell said; “I have friends who are nurses or work in the labs at UHG [Univeristy Hospital Galway]. They are at the frontline of this crisis and doing everything they can to support and help the most vulnerable. I felt, as do most people at the moment, a bit helpless and unnerved by the feeling of uncertainty around the coronavirus and the impact it has had and will continue to have on our society and economy.
“Over the past number of weeks I noticed a lot of fake news circulating about ‘lockdowns’, the army, etc, that I felt was just fuelling people’s anxieties and adding to the existing stresses. It’s fine for me when I get a message like that an I know it’s false, but what about those who don’t and they are sick with worry already? They don’t need fake news adding to that.
“[So] I decided to set up www.coronavirusireland.ie to aggregate all the most up-to-date information regarding Covid-19 in Ireland from official and trusted sources such as the WHO, HSE, and the Department of Employment and Social Protection. I don’t create any content for the site I simply bring together as many reliable and factual sources of information regarding the coronavirus in Ireland that individuals may be searching for and can’t quite find themselves, this just brings it all to one place.
“The site is broken out into multiple categories such as public information which brings you directly to the HSE website, HPSC, Citizen’s Information, and many more resources. Other subsections include guidance for businesses, employment concerns, mental well-being and national news feeds.”
O’Donnell, who works as a marketing manager for Advance Science, says she will continue to update the site with useful information as long as the pandemic continues, however, she hopes that there will be no need for the site in a few months’ time.
“I will continue to work on www.coronavirusireland.ie for as long as people wish to use it and are finding it beneficial. I hope that this global pandemic doesn’t last much longer and there isn’t use for this site in a few months time, but for now I am hoping it’s of some benefit to the general public.
“The feedback has been amazing. People have been so supportive and thankful which makes the work invested in it so worth it.”
The website which has received more than 2,000 views in less than a week since its launch, can be accessed by visiting www.coronavirusireland.ie
