Infection rates of COVID-19 in the Mid-West have doubled in the past four to five weeks.
Over the past 14 days (as of November 8), there were 3,374 COVID-19 cases in the Mid-West region; 1,801 in Limerick, 1,027 in Clare, and 546 in North Tipperary. Of these, 79% are aged 18+, 5% are aged 12-17, 13% are aged 5-11, and 3% are aged 0-4.
A fresh appeal has been issued by the Department of Public Health Mid-West for people in these counties to limit their social activity. Infection rates are similar to levels experienced during the January wave, health officials have said.
Unlike the January wave, there is lower incidence of serious illness and death, largely due to the successful COVID-19 vaccination programme, thus far. However, due to the sharp escalation in new cases in recent weeks, breakthrough infections with serious outcomes are more likely to occur amid current, widespread community transmission.
Outbreaks in the region are currently being managed in nursing homes, long-term residential care facilities, healthcare settings, workplaces, education settings, and a range of settings in the community.
Pre-pandemic levels of social activity is a factor in the high prevalence of infection in the community, causing significant onward transmission in multiple settings.
Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health Mid-West stated, “As a community, we have a lot to be positive about. More than 90% of the eligible population in the Mid-West has received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine. This is exceptionally high in international standards, and this valiant effort is playing a valuable part in curtailing the level of serious illness and hospitalisations. However, we are expecting a considerable increase in COVID-19 cases, should social activity remain at its current rate. As a result, we will likely see a greater number of people with COVID-19 in hospital this winter period”.
“We can reverse this trajectory by making small changes in our day-to-day activity. We ask that people limit their social activity and social contacts over the coming weeks to help reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in the community. We advise people to continue wearing face masks in busy public places, around older and vulnerable people, and at work. We are seeing a trend of some workplaces dropping their guard in terms of mask-wearing, which is high-risk when COVID-19 is circulating widely in the community. We have encountered some instances where people with COVID-19 symptoms have purchased an antigen test and have relied on a ‘not detected’ result as a green light to continue normal activity. Instead, we ask people with symptoms to self-isolate and book a free PCR test to accurately determine their COVID-19 status,” Dr Mannix added.
