The Department of Public Health Mid-West is advising people in Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary to limit social activity, in order to reduce the level of COVID-19 in the community.
Infection rates have doubled in the Mid-West in the past four to five weeks, similar to levels experienced during the January wave.
In the 14 days up to November 8th), 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 HSE spokesperson said: “Unlike the January wave, we are seeing a lower incidence of serious illness and death, largely thanks 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.
We continue to encourage everyone to register for a free COVID-19 vaccine, to avail of a second dose if you have not already done so, and if eligible to avail of the booster vaccine when you receive your text message from the HSE.”
Public Health Mid-West is managing outbreaks 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. In terms of contact tracing and surveillance, the current widespread level of infection is placing significant pressure on our ability to visualise the complete disease profile in the region.
Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health Mid-West, said: “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 said.