MORE than a dozen of Northern Ireland's top doctors who specialise in infectious diseases have issued an appeal asking people to stick to Covid public health guidance.
This is the first time the consultants - mainly from the Belfast trust - have penned an open letter during the pandemic and have done so due to fears the system is about to become "overloaded".
With half of the signatories involved in the treatment of HIV patients, they also warn of the importance of not "stigmatising" those diagnosed with coronavirus and providing "positive support".
And they say the north's "test and trace system" must be "fixed" to gain better control of the virus.
"We appeal to everybody in Northern Ireland to do their utmost to reduce social interactions immediately," they write.
"...This pandemic requires us to work together to bring it under control urgently. We need to reduce the potential for transmission to protect our health service... If the current trajectory continues, and we don’t gain control of this urgently, it will become harder to bring under control."
Dr Conall McCaughey, a leading virologist heading up the main Covid testing laboratory on the Royal Victoria Hospital site and who was among those to sign the letter, said he felt it was "crunch time".
The consultant has more than 30 years' experience and expressed concerns around "confusion" among the public in relation to Stormont guidance.
"Even now, many people do not realise that two households cannot mix inside even though it's being covered so well in the press and announcements - but it hasn't really got through," he said.
"The other thing relates to under-12s from other households 'not counting' when they do. The more particular the restriction, the more people find it confusing.
"There's two elements: one is that people are tired and they feel it won't affect them. But the other thing is, there are people who are trying to do the right thing and get mixed up."
Dr McCaughey said the letter was trying to reinforce the "list of relatively simple things" including the two-metre social distance rule, hand washing, wearing face masks and getting tested/self-isolating if you have symptoms.
"What we're asking people to do are essentially risk assessments - we all do risk assessments very time we cross the road but where stuff is new to people, it's harder.
"The messages are good. They will, if followed, reduce transmission and put us in a better place."
