The new Cathaoirleach of the Dungarvan Lismore District Council says many people need to be reminded that the coronavirus has not gone away.
Fianna Fáil's James Tobin was elected unopposed to head up the district for the next 12 months, replacing Damien Geoghegan.
Fine Gael's Pat Nugent will be deputy.
Tallow-based Councillor Tobin gave the warning in his address following his election:
"I was out around yesterday, just driving around without leaving down the window of the car.
"For some reason or another, a lot of people seem to think that Covid is gone away - it's not gone away and we would want to start reminding our people that it's not gone away.
"They would want to be careful over the next couple of months."
He says rural communities face severe challenges over the coming months.
"Cities will be quite capable of looking after themselves, they have the population, they have the businesses.
"My worry is for the smaller towns.
"When I look at the amount of premises in West Waterford that are closed and I ask myself will they open again, will some of them ever open?"
