Mayor welcomes Military personnel support for frontline health workers

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey has welcomed the step of bringing in support from military personnel to assist Northern Ireland’s Health Service during this time of crisis.

Mayor Councillor Jim Montgomery said, “Our Health Service staff have been under tremendous pressure for the duration of this Pandemic and this has significantly intensified over the last few weeks. It is only right to provide them with every possible resource and support in their heroic work. Our military personnel are trained to protect the public at both home and abroad, so in the face of a national crisis we must welcome their readiness to serve.

“Calling upon this help is certainly a significant step, but it shows the seriousness of the toll this sustained effort is taking on our frontline health workers. At a local level, we know our own Antrim Area Hospital has been at the forefront of the battle, with peaks where nearly half of all in-patients tested positive for COVID19.

“Additional trained personnel will certainly help our NHS, but the greatest impact to help them through this period will be if each of us follows the very simple rule…. Stay at Home.”