Sound out from the county council!

A new initiative will no doubt strike a chord with many people cocooning across Cork county.

In addition to bringing a world of books to your door, Cork County Council is now branching out to bring music to your ears too, if you’re cocooning at home.

The council has now added musical instrument loans to its housebound home delivery service as part of its Covid-19 Community Support Programme.

Called A Sound Initiative, it has a selection of musical instruments available to borrow and which can be delivered safely to your home via the council’s housebound library service. Instruments include violins, keyboards, guitars, banjos and ukuleles. For public health reasons wind instruments are not included.

Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Ian Doyle, welcomed the news describing it as a great initiative.

He said: “Learning to play a musical instrument has so many proven benefits. It stimulates the brain, improving your memory and relieves stress. It has even been shown to lower heart rate and blood pressure, so it’s good for your health and it is fun too. I know how hard cocooning can be on people, so it’s important that we look after our mental and physical health more than ever. It’s great to see the library offering such vital services to the community at this time.”

Cork County Council’s housebound delivery service is now available across the county to serve those who are cocooning and isolating throughout the duration of this pandemic. If you, or anyone you know, needs help accessing collection or delivery of food, essential household items, fuel, medication or simply needs some non-emergency/non-medical advice or support, contact Cork County Council’s Covid-19 Community Call Helpline on 1800-805819 from 8am-8pm daily or call 021-4285517 from outside of Ireland to seek assistance for a relative or friend. You can also text 085-8709010, email covidsupport@corkcoco.ie or visit corkcoco.ie for more information.