An Irish GP has issued a heartbreaking plea for people to follow public health guidelines as the country continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at a Covid-19 press briefing on Monday evening Dr Dermot Nolan issued a stark warning to parents and young people about how the virus affects people of all ages.
Dr Nolan shared a heartbreaking story of how he experienced a case where a 10-year-old boy developed appendicitis while his family were in self-isolation.
While the young boy thankfully made a full recovery, due to the virus, he had to face a major operation alone without his family.
Dr Nolan urged parents to think how they would feel if that were their child, and re-emphasised the importance of following restrictions.
He added if we do this, children, or other people who fall ill, can have their loved ones with them during what can be “very scary times.
"This little chap was very brave and made a brave recovery. But I just want to ask all parents to consider if they had to face that situation how they would feel."
"The idea of 'it's not that bad and I'll only get mild symptoms if i get it' , if you're young and healthy that may very well be the case, however we are still treating young, fit patients who contracted Covid-19 many weeks ago and still have extreme lethargy and breathing problems." You just could be unlucky".
His comments come as a further 1,372 cases were confirmed and another seven deaths were announced.
Professor Philip Nolan added that while case numbers were dropping the high level of hospitalisations was likely to stay that way in the coming weeks.
