The Chair of Mid Ulster District has offered his condolences to the families of the 148 people in Mid Ulster who have died as a result of COVID-19.
Speaking at the council’s monthly meeting, the Chair, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan, notified members that as of January 28, the death toll on this island has surpassed 5,000, with 148 of these people from Mid Ulster.
“I would like to take this opportunity to pass on my sincere condolences to all those people out there who have been affected by this terrible, terrible disease and let them know that we are thinking about them,” said the Chair.
“I also want to encourage the public to continue to follow the health advice and I want to pass on my appreciation to fellow councillors who have wisely taken the decision tonight [Thursday, January 28] to work from home where they can.
“There are only a handful of us in the chamber tonight and that is very much appreciated as we send out a message to the public that this can be done.”
Turning to some positive news, the Chair revealed he had witnessed, first hand, the work being carried out by GPs across Mid Ulster to vaccinate the district’s residents.
“I have visited the Meadowbank sports arena in Magherafelt where all the GPs in the south Derry area have combined to carry out COVID-19 vaccine clinics,” he said.
“Today [Thursday, January 28], there were over 120 octogenarians from across the former Magherafelt council area, receiving their vaccines at the centre.
“The roll out is very successful in terms of the work on the ground that our council staff are doing to help the GPs to deliver that service.
“This is also taking place in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena outside Cookstown and in Dungannon Leisure Centre.”
He continued: “Speaking to the doctors, I understand their operation is very smooth, they are getting the people in and people are happy but there is still quite a shortage of the vaccine itself.
“They anticipated at this point they would be vaccinating upwards of 1,200 people per day but this is still in the small hundreds.
“I know our health professionals right across Mid Ulster are eager to do as much as they can to help our citizens so my thanks go out to them and to all our council staff who are helping them do that.”
