The escalating number of COVID-19 infection clusters in nursing homes demands the Government outline in detail what extra medical help is being provided to deliver additional care for residents who have the virus.
This is the view of Sinn Féin Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell, who is calling on the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, and the HSE, to provide a full update on what she called "a serious cause for concern".
There are now more than 100 clusters of the virus in nursing homes across this State - the second highest percentage of deaths from COVID-19 in care homes at 54 per cent, followed by Spain at 57 per cent.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, we were warned that it affected older people more severely than the general population," said Dep Farrell. “Unfortunately, few precautionary structures were put in place to help protect nursing home residents and staff, and there was a delay in a plan and resources being enacted to tackle the virus in the nursing home sector."
