*PHOTOGRAPH: John Mangan
Co Clare has now gone five days without confirmation of an additional COVID-19 case.
Meanwhile 4 further deaths and 9 more confirmed cases have been recorded by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) across the country.
Latest data for Co Clare shows that as of Saturday there were 368 cases to date in the county.
Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health shows that a growing majority of adults (62%) feel that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, with a decline in the number of people who think we are likely to see a second wave, falling from 63% at the end of May to 54% today.
“It has been 100 days since we reported our first case of COVID-19. Since then, it has been the collective effort of our health service and general public that has limited the spread of the virus. As we enter Phase 2, it is vital to keep up a compliance with public health advice,” Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan stated.
16 clusters were recorded in private houses last week, Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer confirmed.
No new increases in the amount of clusters or cases have been recorded among the Traveller community, the homeless or the Roma community.
One additional cluster and a further four cases have been notified from Direct Provision Centres.
In relation to workplaces, there are a total of 47 clusters overall, an increase of four clusters. Of these, 22 are in respect of meat plants, an increase of two and the total number of cases involved is 1,091, an increase of 43 since last week.
Dr Siobhán Ni Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and HSE Integrated Care Lead, said; “A growing majority (62%) of adults feel that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. This is not a guarantee and especially so if public health behaviours are not adopted by all of us. Decision making on an individual level, particularly around socializing and crowd participation, is required of all of us in this new phase of restrictions”.
