Derry COVID decline continues at slowing pace as TD calls for ‘troops in’ to patrol the border

Peter Fitzpatrick, a former soldier and Independent T.D. for Louth, suggested members of the defence forces should be used to stop people travelling across the border.

“As an ex-soldier of the 27th Battalion, I think it is about time we started to use the Army. There is a barracks in Dundalk with 450 soldiers. Why not deploy them in Border areas? Donegal is in a serious situation. Louth, Cavan and Monaghan have done a fantastic job over the past three or four weeks. Is that just going to be flushed down the toilet?

“We have to be realistic. I wish to see a united Ireland, but I do not wish to see a united Ireland right now.”

Donegal continues to record the highest levels of coronavirus in the twenty-six counties. A month ago Derry and Strabane was suffering one of the highest SARS-CoV-2 prevalence rates in Europe.

The rate has dropped significantly over recent weeks but it is now falling at a slowing pace. Between November 9 and November 15 the case rate in BT48, which covers the cityside, fell to 217.4 per 100,000 people with 132 cases during the week. That was down from case rates of 283.2 per 100,000 a week ago, 398.5 per 100,000 a fortnight ago, 691.6 per 100,000 three weeks ago, and 1,155.9 per 100,000 four weeks ago.

In BT47, there has been a similar decline. The rate has fallen to 216.4 per 100,000 people with 133 positive cases over the seven days. This fell from 275 per 100,000 last week, 364.5 per 100,000 a fortnight ago, 595.5 per 100,000 three weeks ago, and 997.4 per 100,000 four weeks ago.

Over the weekend, the prevalence rate for Derry/Strabane as a whole fell below 200 for the first time since September 25 but it was up again marginally to 202.4 for the seven day period November 9 to November 15. This remains below the average rate for the north which is 203.6.

Five districts - Causeway Coast and Glens (312.6), Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (254.6), Mid Ulster (216.9), Fermanagh and Omagh (211.4) and Belfast (204) - are recording higher rates than Derry/Strabane.

A further person has sadly died after testing positive for COVID in Derry and Strabane. A woman, aged between 60 and 79, died in hospital on Monday.

At midnight on Sunday there were 68 coronavirus patients in Western Trust hospitals. Five of nine (55.56%) ICU beds at Altnagelvin were being used to treat COVID patients; three (33.33%) were occupied by patients with other conditions; and one (11.11%) ICU bed was free. Six ICU patients were being ventilated - three were COVID-19 patients and three were non-COVID-19 patients. In terms of general occupancy, 16.13 per cent of beds at Altnagelvin were ‘COVID-19 occupied’, 71.29 per cent were ‘other occupied’ and the hospital now has 12.58 per cent capacity left in the system.

In response to Deputy Fitzpatrick’s call for the army to be deployed at the border, An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: “The Government is not giving any consideration to putting the Army on the Border between the North and the South. We struggled and fought too hard for too many decades to take all armies off the Border and we certainly do not want to be the jurisdiction that puts uniforms on the Border again.

“That is not something to which we are giving consideration. The point raised by the Deputy is a serious one. The situation in NI is much more serious than the situation here. There is a very significant reservoir of infection in NI and people travelling to and from NI create a real risk. We need to enforce the 5 km rule, but that is best done by the Garda rather than by military means.”