Coronavirus: Londonderry-Donegal border still passable despite efforts to limit unnecessary travel

Both areas have been affected by a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

The Derry and Strabane council area, during the past seven days, has recorded more cases per head of population than any other part of Northern Ireland.

The neighbouring county of Donegal, meanwhile, has had the highest number of cases over the past fortnight in the Republic of Ireland.

Last week it was announced that police on both sides of the Irish border would put ‘rolling cross-border checkpoints’ in place in a bid to limit travel between the two coronavirus hotspots.

But the News Letter heard from multiple residents on both sides of the border that travel remained relatively free over the weekend, although Irish police were reported to be stopping cars for several hours on some of the crossings.

Daire Costello, a carpenter from the Waterside area of Londonderry who recently tested positive for the virus, suggested people feeling “fed up” from lockdown could be to blame for the recent increases in the North West.

“People in Derry went into lockdown quicker and now people have got fed up,” he said.

“People here looked more to what was happening in the south and they were following the advice from Leo Varadkar, not from the UK, so they were taking it more seriously at the start. But people started thinking it was gone, and yes they’re wearing masks but they’re not washing hands as much, they’re seeing more people, and it’s spreading again.”

Asked about the border, he added: “There’s too many back roads. They’ll never be able to close the border, no way. People are still going across.”

Maurice O’Halloran, who lives in the village of Muff on the Donegal side of the border, expressed a similar view.

“It’s Covid fatigue, definitely,” he said. “And you also have these people refusing to wear masks and people thinking it’s some sort of conspiracy theory.”

He continued: “You also see lots of Northern registered cars, and Dublin registered cars, with people going on holidays in Donegal.

“That’s bound to have had an effect.”