A Cork doctor who asked social media to to help spread her advice and reassurance on kids and coronavirus has seen her message reach hundreds of thousands of people.
Dr Muireann Ní Chróinín, a paediatric consultant at Cork University Hospital, wrote up a short post outlining her thoughts as a medical professional specialising in children as Ireland entered the shut-down phase.
The post has been shared across social media platforms including Facebook and Whatsapp and reached huge numbers of people in Ireland and beyond, with many responding with gratitude to her calm words and practical advice.
Dr Ní Chróinín - who has confirmed to CorkBeo that she did indeed write the post - simply calling it a "message from consultant respiratory paediatrician at Cork University Hospital".
And admitting that she was "not that good at social media" - she asked those who read the message to spread it as far as possible, adding "this message needs to go viral to stop the virus".
In her post, Dr Ní Chróinín said:"I hope you all stay safe during this difficult time. The children will get through this no problem.
"Paediatric hospitals are empty in Italy at present, after three weeks of school closure as the usual viruses stopped circulating . Remember with corona, children are vectors not victims."
"In most epidemics, young children are the transmitters.
"Therefore for school closure to be effective, it’s really important that the kids aren’t mixing with other kids while out of school.
"They will give it to each other silently pass it on to our loved ones. What we do now will contribute to how this develops in Cork. Avoid situations that the children will interact.
"If the community respond to this, it will shut it down more than anything we do in hospital.
"From my experiences in the hospital this last week I would say that coronavirus is closer to all of us than we realise and the degrees of separation for all of us is getting narrower.
"I’m not that good at social media, but if this could be shared as widely as possible with parents in Cork it will help. This message needs to go viral to stop the virus."
The doctor's post and her practical advice have been met with an outpouring of gratitude from concerned parents online.
Get the latest information from the HSE on the coronavirus here .
The most common symptoms of coronavirus are:
