February: Covid cases soar in county but charity spirit is alive and kicking

With strict restrictions remaining in place the pandemic continued to dominate the headlines in February.
Checkpoints remained in place on roads across the city and county with gardaí warning a fines were issued for breaches of the restrictions
Superintendent at Kilkenny Garda Station, Derek Hughes said that while most people are abiding by the regulations, those who aren’t are putting the lives of others at risk.
“The vast majority of people continue to comply with the public health regulations. In doing so, they are protecting themselves and others,” he said.
“However, some people continue to engage in behaviour that puts themselves, their loved ones, their colleagues and their neighbours at risk of catching Covid-19,” he said.
Meanwhile there were a number of reported incidents of people refusing to wear masks in shops. The HSE, gardaí and the local authority issued an appeal for people to double down on their efforts to help in the fight against Covid-19.
In other news Kilkenny City’s KK2 route bus service was temporarily suspended after it was attacked by thugs throwing stones three times in the space of a few hours. The NTA’s general manager of the route says that if the attacks continue, the bus route may have to be altered to avoid this area due to the obvious danger.
However there was positive news with over €13,000 raised through a local initiative to raise funds for ALONE, the group that supports older people, more than twice its target after an outpouring of generosity from the people of Kilkenny.
The Jerusalema Dance took the online world by storm and in Kilkenny The Newpark Hotel has wowed viewers with their dance getting over 540,000 views to date. Local gardaí also got in on the act as did community groups and clubs across the length and breath of the county.
There was also optimism for the months ahead as Kilkenny Tourism reported a surge in bookings for summer staycations in the city and county.