Cleric who administers to dying patients with COVID in NI hospital has tested positive - ‘Please pray for me’

has tested positive for the virus.

Father James O’Reilly, a Catholic priest at Parish of Antrim, spoke of his experiences at the hospital earlier this week.

He appealed for the public to take Coronavirus seriously.

However last night the cleric himself appealed for “prayers” after himself testing positive.

“Hey everybody. Unfortunately I started feeling unwell yesterday and as a result went for a covid test this morning which has come back positive.

“Please if I could ask you to stay away from St Joseph’s presbytery for the next ten days for any reason.

“And please pray for me. And all who have covid. Fr James.”

Earlier this week in a candid interview on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster. Father James O’Reilly who said he works at the Antrim hospital “24/7” said he is “dealing with families, sickness and death”.

Father O’Reilly said what he sees on a daily basis is “families not being able to be with loved ones”.

He said he wants to send a message to the public to make them understand that “this thing is real and it kills”.

“I was in the hospital last night in a Covid ward and one nurse was still there six hours her shift ended, I see the superhuman efforts these nurses are putting in,” he said.

“You think this thing is not as serious until it comes to your door.”

He added: “I guess, though I don’t know, that people are not taking it as seriously as they should.

“This thing is real and it is so, so serious.

“When the priest is called it is to administer the last rites,” he said. “Then being with families who can’t be with their loved ones.

“It hits you when you least expect it as there are no words to give to families.

“But your very presence gives them a bit of comfort. It is tough.”

He said he wants to send a message to the public to make them understand that “this thing is real and it kills”.

Father O’Reilly said in his role as Catholic chaplain to AAH he has “one of the great privileges of going to bedsides because families are not allowed to, and that is wrong and not fair.

“People are dying alone with no one near them because of this thing and if we as a community should take this on board.”

He added that since the start of the pandemic in March he has seen “the great toll it is taking on staff”.

“They are our last line of defence against this disease,” he added.

“I have seen the resilience of staff. If the peak happens there is not the resources and beds to deal with it.

“But if we practice social distance and staying at home we can help.”

READ - ‘People are dying alone with no-one near them’ says hospital chaplain appealing for public to protect ‘our last line of defence’

______________________________________________________________________

A message from our editor: Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.