A GP has advised against work Christmas parties this year after NPHET urged people to “dial back” on socialising due to a surge in Covid cases.
Dr Denis McCauley, GP and chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP Committee said that it's "probably better not to" have a big office event this year.
He told Newstalk: “I’m being Scrooge here… but if you’re going to have a Christmas party... do it well. Don’t have an unofficial one.
“Nobody likes to cancel Christmas, and no politician would like to cancel Christmas. But I’m a doctor, I have no such issues.
“We have been told by NPHET to try to limit our amount of socialising, to a certain extent. If it’s a choice between having Christmas with your family and an office party… which one would you choose? I think most of us would choose our family.
"If you’re going to have an unofficial Christmas party, don’t. If you’re determined to have a party of some form, have it in a controlled environment where all the Covid measures are there.
"I would rather have a controlled Christmas party than an uncontrolled one."
NPHET have recently urged people to “dial back” their socialising and “ration” their activities as there are currently high levels of Covid-19 in the community.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told RTE that it's still too early to tell people whether they can have a Christmas party during December.
And Dr McCauley said it's important to have a “planned and controlled” event if you are determined to have a Christmas party.
He even said that it's "OK to say no" if you don't feel comfortable attending a work event this year.
He stressed that Covid-19 digital certs are the “number one thing” to help ensure a controlled environment and that it's "not acceptable" to hear that one-in-three people aren't having their certs checked when entering a pub or restaurant.
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