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New Ross in Wexford had the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the country in the run-up to Christmas, as health officials prepare for a significant spike this week.
As of Dec. 21, the Monday before Christmas, New Ross in Wexford had the highest infection rate nationally, following a more than 10-fold increase in the number of cases.
The figures are confirmed in the latest data from the Local Electoral Area (LEA) from the Center for Health Protection Surveillance, which shows how quickly the virus can spread and where new Covid-19 hotspots are emerging.
The infection rate in New Ross increased from 57.7 cases per 100,000 residents on Dec. 14, when 16 cases were confirmed in the previous two weeks, to 659.7 cases per 100,000 residents after 183 cases were detected.
A dramatic increase in Covid-19 levels was also evident in Kenmare in Kerry, which now has the highest infection rate in Munster.
During the same time period, the Covid-19 infection rate increased more than fivefold from 79.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on December 14 to 438.9 on December 21, after the detection of 110 cases.
Elsewhere, infection rates are increasing in Castlecomer in Kilkenny (462.2 cases per 100,000 population) and Buncrana in Donegal (523.1 cases per 100,000 population), but are decreasing in Carndonagh in Donegal (619 cases per 100,000 population). ), which previously had the highest infection rate. nationally.
Parts of Leitrim, Roscommon and Clare had the lowest infection rates nationally and were nearly virus-free, with fewer than five cases detected in the previous two weeks.
In Munster, infection rates were increasing rapidly in parts of Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and a part of Cork City, while three areas were nearly virus-free.
The virus continued to spread in Limerick, particularly in the Adare-Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Limerick City East areas, where the infection rate ranged from 260.3 to 353.7 cases per 100,000 population.
Dramatic increases were also seen in Carrick-on-Suir in Tipperary, where the infection rate tripled to 226.3 cases per 100,000 population and in the southeast area of Cork City where the infection rate increased six times to 128, 6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. .
Kilrush and Killaloe in Clare and Cahir in Tipperary had fewer than five confirmed cases in the previous 14 days, making them nearly virus-free.
Separately, data on mass tests in schools and daycare shows an increase in cases detected before the Christmas holidays, with 128 confirmed cases in the week ending December 19. The detection or positivity rate increased to 3.8%, which represents a doubling since the end of November (1.9%).
The national rate of Covid-19 infection now stands at 209 cases per 100,000 inhabitants after a rapid and significant increase in the last week when the number of new cases exceeded 1,000 per day. Nearly 10,000 cases have been confirmed in the past two weeks.
Health officials have noted that they expect to see a significant increase in infection rates after the Christmas holidays.
On Sunday, HSE chief Paul Reid confirmed that 23,000 tests had been processed in a single day and that positivity rates were increasing.
The seven-day positivity rate increased from 2.6% on December 14 to 6.6% on December 27, returning to levels last seen at the height of the second Covid-19 wave in October.
There has also been an increase in the number of people admitted to the hospital with Covid-19. On Monday there were 360 people in the hospital, 30 of whom were in intensive care.
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