A group has been set up in Waterford to assist vulnerable and older people during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Covid-19 Waterford Community Care Action Group was formed to help people who may not be able to leave their homes.
The group's helpline opened at 11am today and it will be operational every day until 3pm.
The number is 051 871695 and volunteers are asking callers to have their Eircode ready.
The group say the line will be manned by volunteers and they're not medical practitioners, so they won’t be able to issue medical advice.
However, they can help people who can’t leave their homes and need assistance with collection of shopping and medication.
Bernadette Philips is one of the volunteers:
"If people do ring up and they are at home and they can't go out, and they do need their medication delivered, or food, certainly this group is there to facilitate this."
Jim Griffin is another volunteer:
"We're also exploring the possibility with some of the supermarkets that we will be able to access the supermarkets early in the morning or late at night, and get elderly and vulnerable people that would like to get out and shop themselves and pick out their own items, so that they don't have to be in the mayhem of the panic buying."
