DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Testing times as COVID-19 cases rise in Derry and Strabane

Mr. McFadden pointed out that the rate of infection in Derry was low. He suggested that if any measures did have to be reimposed they should focus on areas where COVID-19 appeared to be spiking.

Last week the coronavirus was surging in a handful of areas in the east, Belfast and Mid & East Antrim in particular, and to a lesser extent Antrim & Newtownabbey.

If there were to be lockdowns, à la Laois, Offaly and Kildare, then it seemed these areas would be the likely candidates. That remains the case but it was of some concern last Friday when Derry and Strabane recorded the highest number of positive SARS-CoV-2 cases in a day since the outbreak began with 15 in total.

That was more than at any time during the peak of the first wave in the spring. On April 3, for example - until last week the day with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the city and district - 13 individuals had tested positive.

It was a sobering warning against complacency in the face of what for many is a fatal illness. Notwithstanding this we are now in a very different phase of the pandemic with greater levels of understanding and preparedness than were evident six months ago.

This month testing has rapidly been ramped up in Derry and Strabane. When those 13 cases were detected on April 3 they arose from just 53 laboratory tests. The 15 cases last Friday arose from 384. It is incumbent on all of us to wear face coverings, to practice social distancing and good hand and respiratory hygiene, and not to let our guards down.

The government must take great care in deciding whether or not to impose lockdowns on areas like Derry and Strabane in future. Strict measures must only be reintroduced in order to prevent the exponential growth of the virus and to safeguard the public.

But everyone can play their civic duty in ensuring we don’t get to that stage in the first place.