NUI GALWAY’S STUDENT HEALTH CLINIC

WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION AS STUDENT PARTY-GOERS FLOCK TO SPANISH ARCH, ONE DAY AFTER UNIVERSITY’S RETURN Return of the academic year sees Spanish Arch thronged

By Paddy Henry Editor.sin@gmail.com @PadraigMacEinri

Student revellers have been slammed by local representatives and residents, after scenes of mass social gatherings were captured on the Spanish Arch, just one day into the return of the academic year in NUI Galway.

By Conor Brummell

NUI Galway’s Student Health Clinic has reopened and are accepting appointments from students for all Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 health issues and complaints.

The service is operating in a different manner from the usual ‘walk-in service’ they provide, as they strive to provide remote consultations wherever possible for health advice and repeat prescriptions, in order to maintain infection prevention and control protocols.

As public health advice is constantly changing and the country faces a surge in Covid-19 cases, SIN spoke to Eoin Mac Donncha, Medical Director and GP of the Student Health Clinic about the upcoming semester, and the advice he has for student safety during the winter months.

“Though advice and guidelines change, there is certain elements of public health advice that are unwavering, and that is the basics. The key thing is keeping your hands clean, and away from your face- that is your mouth, nose, and eyes. Wherever you see a hand sanitising unit- use it,” Eoin says.

“What I would advise is for students to carry around one of those small

The Spanish Arch and Claddagh area saw congregations of over 300 people on Monday (28 th September), most of which were believed to be students.

Photos and videos of the Claddagh carnage spread like wildfire on social media, with the scenes causing outrage among Galway residents and local politicians.

Gardaí dispersed the large crowd pocket hand sanitisers in their bags, because the amount of time I’ve seen one in shops that has been empty is ridiculous. “The next thing is to wear masks- legislation dictates that you have to wear masks on public transport, in buildings and in shops- but what I would say is that anywhere you feel someone might come into your two-metre space, wear a mask. In corridors, one-way pathway systems on campus-basically anywhere outside your accommodation where you might bump into someone, I would advise students to be wearing a mask.” he added.

In terms of keeping people protected, the Student Health Clinic wants to get every student using the HSE’s Covid Tracker app and the Student Health Matters app.

“There are two elements to the tracker app- it allows you to update how you’re feeling every day and if you’re feeling unwell, it gives you instructions on what to do next. You do not need WIFI for it to work, just your Bluetooth, and that is important because it’s how contact tracing works which is invaluable.

“It’s been highlighted to us in the cases we have seen in the last two weeks how well this app works. It removes the thinking on the student’s part of

shortly after images of the gatherings began to circulate.

Speaking to SIN, Mayor of Galway City Mike Cubbard described the scenes as ‘a slap in the face to frontline workers.’

“The scenes are shocking and are a slap in the face to frontline workers, to those who continue to adhere to the guidelines and to the majority of students who were not there.” whether they need to get tested or notthe app will do that thinking for you. In my opinion, it is brainless for a student not to have the app.”

The Student Health Matters app, on the other hand, is the perfect guide for every student to have. It has HSE advice, as well as having links to all the information one would need, without needing access to WIFI to use it.

In terms of socialising in the coming months, Eoin has no reservations about what needs to happen.

Students need to keep social contacts to a complete minimum.

“You’re going to have to meet some people from your class setting, as well as if you’re part of a sporting team, but that should be it. The ones that are necessary- academics, sport, your housemates- are fine, but beyond that, you should be trying to minimise social contacts as much as possible.”

Mac Donncha spoke about the problems house parties have caused recently in relation to the spread of the virus, “House parties are bananas.” he stated.

“They have unfortunately kicked off a load of problems for us in the past week, and that message needs to get out there. Things can get out of control very quickly.”

“All those who went there should be ashamed of their actions, and whilst I accept that younger people have arguably suffered more than most in recent months, it is not an excuse to put the public health of all of Galway at risk”. he added.

The Mayor has called for an emergency meeting between the Student’s Unions of both NUIG and GMIT, An Garda Síochána , the Chief Executive of Galway City Council, and the Presidents of both colleges on the back of Monday night’s mayhem.

Cubbard slammed the reckless behaviour, calling for a meeting with the NUIG and GMIT Student’s Unions

Yesterday, there were 390 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland, 21 of which were in County Galway.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that government health officials, were ‘very concerned” about Covid-19 infection rates in the city, with a localised lockdown in the county looking increasingly likely.

Disgusted students expressed their fury at last night’s events describing them as ‘embarrassing’

Other unimpressed college goers laid blame at the feet of the government for a lack of clarity.

New year- same old problems. Fresher’s flu ravages campuses across the country every semester, but how can students tell the difference between Covid-19 and the common cold?

“If you get any respiratory tack symptoms- such as a cold, a cough or a runny nose- you should probably self-isolate immediately for two days as we don’t want them circulating,” Eoin says.

Covid symptoms are quite simple: if you have any type of cough, or if you have a fever, you should get tested.

“There is one piece of equipment I would recommend every student gets this year, and that is a thermometer. It does not have to be fancy, just one that sticks under the tongue to measure your temperature is fine and they only cost a couple of euro.”

“Everyone knows what a fever feels like- the aches and pains, the chills and hot feeling at the same time- everyone knows them. The game changer is if we can confirm whether the temperature is higher than 38 degrees. That is a definite symptom of Covid-19.”

“The last symptoms people need to look out for is a complete loss of smell or a complete change or loss of your sense of taste. If that happens, stay in your accommodation, or get back there immediately to self-isolate and contact a GP.” Mayor of Galway City Mike Cubbard

On Friday (25 th September), the Department of Higher Education Innovation and Research announced that all learning at Higher Education institutes would move to an online platform for at least the next two weeks. Some students argued that the announcement, three days prior to the commencement of the college year came too late, arguing that those who had intended to move from their homes

NUI GALWAY’S STUDENT HEALTH CLINIC: “Students have huge power to prevent another lockdown”

to college had already done so.

“If anyone is any doubt, don’t let the student try to decipher whether it is a cold or Covid. Get in contact and we will help you out. Err on the side of caution, and self-isolate.”

News came on Friday evening (25 th of September) that NUI Galway, along with all other college campuses across the country, would be moving operations online for two weeks to combat the surge in Coronavirus cases nationwide.

The doctor warned of the precarious position Galway finds itself in currently in relation to Covid cases, and claimed that students have a big say in whether cases continue to rise in the city.

“I think at the moment, the power rests in the hands of students and the community of Galway. Practice hand hygiene, and if you are meeting up with social contacts, it must be at a minimum. The fewer contacts you have, if anyone gets it, the less likely it is to spread.”

“Galway is entering a tipping point, and the next two weeks are crucial. Students have huge power to influence that. Huge power.”