*Photograph: John Mangan

Public health officials have warned of a steady increases in confirmed cases in Co Clare.

Cases in Co Clare have increased steadily over the past fourteen days with a total of 164 confirmed cases in this period. This day last month, there were 79 cases detected in Clare in a 14-day period.

On August 3, a total of 24 cases were confirmed in Clare, which is one of the highest daily increases since the tail end of the third wave in February.

Officials within the Department of Public Health Mid-West have urged people in the Ennis area to be extra vigilant and to avail of free COVID-19 testing if they are experiencing symptoms or feel they have been exposed to risk in the past 14 days.

While cases have been largely sporadic in the community, an outbreak of at least 10 cases in the Ennis area in the past 14 days has been recorded. Testing is being offered to known individuals and groups.

Due to the current level of infection in the Mid-West region, coupled with the high rate of complex cases, investigating all individual cases and their close contacts is resource intensive at present, a spokesperson admitted.

“We are particularly urging people to be upfront and honest with contact tracing teams about the full extent of their activities and close contacts. Otherwise, outbreaks in the community are more difficult to prevent and contain. The best intervention in the community is to register for a vaccine at the earliest opportunity, continue to follow the Public Health guidelines, avail of a free COVID-19 test if you think you have symptoms or are concerned you were exposed to a risk of infection, limit your number of social contacts, and avoid crowded areas,” the spokesperson added.

Dr Anne Dee, Specialist in Public Health Medicine, said: “The people of Clare have been among the leaders in keeping COVID-19 at a minimum in their communities since the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, due to the high transmissibility of the Delta variant, outbreaks in the community will become more frequent. However, they can be contained if people are able to follow Public Health guidelines, make known their close contacts, thereby swiftly breaking further chains of transmission. It is equally important to know if you are fully vaccinated, are not showing symptoms, and are following Public Health advice, you can be assured that you are best protected from COVID-19.”

COVID-19 Cases in Clare:
July 23rd: 10
July 24th: 10
July 25th: 15
July 26th: 7
July 27th: 11
July 28th: 11
July 29th: 8
July 30th: 13
July 31st: 12
August 1st: 10
August 2nd: 14
August 3rd: 24
August 4th: 14