It is Tuesday morning and many of us are waking up to the images on our social media pages of Galway's Spanish and Middle Arches being thronged with young people revelling and drinking from the night before.
While the scene would not be unusual for the first week of college in any other year in Galway, the events over the past six months means there were, no doubt, plenty of groans of 'Oh dear' throughout the city and county. One person with that train of thought is Lynn Porter.
"Yeah I saw them," she sighs. "It is clear the message of 'Think about granny' isn't working. Young people can be selfish and think the world is at their feet. Maybe the idea that your behaviour can affect someone else's health is not registering. Maybe hit them directly that if you catch this virus, it actually will affect your health.
"You're not invincible. You might think health is on your side because you are young and that you are never going to get it. I didn't think I would get it but I did and it was a very scary experience."
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The second year commerce student at NUI Galway knows only too well what could be ahead for a number of those partying on Monday night at one of Galway's most famed drinking spots. Back in March, she was one of the first people in Galway to be diagnosed with the notorious virus that has now seen more than one million deaths linked to it.
She spoke to the Galway Advertiser at the end of March about her experience of her symptoms which started on St Patrick's Day with a cold, a headache, and soreness in the eyes as well as a temperature before being hit with the full force of coronavirus' power.
'I was lucky as I live with my mum, my brother, and my son. They were able to do everything for me. It was something I didn't have to think about and it made it easier to self-isolate'
"I had a flu and I couldn't get out of bed. I had a temperature but no cough at all which seems to be very unusual comparing to what they say about other cases. My eyes were sore; sore neck; sore shoulders. My glands were badly swollen; they were like golfballs in my throat so I phoned my GP and she believed that I may have had meningitis so I was sent to A&E to be tested up [at University Hospital Galway (UHG )].
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"They swabbed the back of my throat and the back of my nose. It was uncomfortable but not painful and only lasts a couple of seconds. Six hours later, I was told I had the coronavirus and was brought back to A&E."
'If they get Covid, they can't travel home to mum and dad so who will look after them?'
The 27-year-old had to spend the night in the hospital's Shannon Ward, getting her chest x-rayed and having to take her own temperature and blood pressure before being allowed to return home where she had to self isolate from the rest of her family for the next 11 days.
'I do not know where I caught the virus so I am urging people to follow the HSE's guidelines so we do not have to go back to another lockdown.'
She admits self-isolating in her bedroom was one of the more difficult aspects of having Covid-19 but highlights the importance of having the support of her family to help her; a comfort which most students in the city will not have if they contract the virus and have to self-isolate.
"I was lucky as I live with my mum [Laura], my brother [Dale], and my son [Jacob]. They were able to do everything for me. It was something I didn't have to think about and it made it easier [to self-isolate].
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"However, most students are living away from the parents. If they get Covid, they can't travel home to mum and dad so who will look after them? They will be confined to their rooms. This is a big point [which they are not thinking about]."
Notwithstanding her sense of taste and smell taking some time to return, Porter has suffered no long term ill effects since contracting the virus. However, she is worried that as the number of cases begin to rise another lockdown will be imposed which may lead to an impact of several people's mental health and calls for people to maintain their social distancing when out for a drink.
"The only long term issue I had was it took some time for my taste and smell to fully return, and even now, if [a piece of food] is mild I can't taste it. Other than that, I have been fortunate not to have any other symptom.
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"It is going to go back [to another lockdown] if continue to behave like they are which will be very difficult for many people to cope with. I have friends and colleagues at work who say they wouldn't be able to cope with another lockdown so I would urge those [students] to think back what it was like and be grateful to be able to socialise a little bit.
"I'm not saying people should not socialise. I have been to the pub, I have been socialising but I am doing it safely. I keep my social circle limited to the same people and maintain my [social] distance. I am aware of my surroundings and when I go to the pub, I am wearing my mask until I am at my table and I will put it back on if I have to leave the table.
"I do not know where I caught the virus so I am urging people to follow the HSE's guidelines so we do not have to go back to another lockdown."
