Young people are not only reason for rising cases

We were all young once, weren’t we?

Well, some of us have never really grown up either I guess!

Most of us did our Leaving Cert, probably didn’t quite get what we thought we deserved, and had a good time finding out what we wanted to do while we went to college or worked or did neither.

Throughout history, young people in their late teens and early twenties have partied, drank too much, made new friends and had a good time. Human nature doesn’t change that much.

While it’s kind of distressing to see scenes like those in Cork city and in Galway at night this week, we shouldn’t think too badly of those students either.

Some of them had the weirdest and most stressful Leaving Cert experience ever and had to deal with CAO points rocketing for some courses, too.

They deserve to blow off some steam and a global pandemic and a changed world isn’t enough to stop them really.

I’m torn though as it really isn’t good to see so many people mingling with little social distancing.

I drove through the city centre on Saturday night at around 8pm and it was very busy.

The top of South Mall and Grand Parade was really busy with loads of people hanging around by the river. There were plenty outside the pubs on Washington Street, too.

Were the pubs busy inside? I don’t know as I wasn’t in them; maybe they looked much busier as people were trying to be safe and stand outside. Other reports from inside some city centre pubs suggest that social distancing has been well policed and very effective.

This week Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Ronan Glynn highlighted that lots of recent cases in Cork have been due to pubs and restaurants.

As the number of positive Covid-19 cases is increasing at “a worrying rate” in the Cork area, HSE regional management appealed to the public to continue to follow the Government’s Covid-19 guidelines.

While the cases continue to increase, I would have some sympathy for young people.

The impact on them has been much greater than on me. I’m spending more time with my family, working from home and am not socialising much, but that’s not too different to my life pre-restrictions!

Young people are impacted far more than I am as their lives are built around socialising and they can’t do that now. Their happiness has been affected far more than mine and people older than their twenties. Their job prospects have been severely hit and their anxieties are much higher.

On Wednesday Dr Glynn said the disease has had a disproportionate impact on the social life, education and relationships of young people and they were not to blame solely for the rise in cases.

This week a Galway senator called for the army to be brought in to assist the gardaí in public order situations. A little more perspective might be needed.