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Tullamore in Offaly continues to have the highest incidence of Covid-19 in the state, at more than five times the national average.
The latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC), from March 16 to March 29, show that the Tullamore electoral area had an incidence rate of 823.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the 754.5 per 100,000 registered the previous week.
Comparatively, the national incidence rate was 164.1 per 100,000 inhabitants as of March 29.
Official figures examine the number of people infected per 100,000 inhabitants per area, allowing a better understanding of the transmission rate than the numbers of direct cases.
The data is registered according to the Local Electoral Areas (LEA), of which there are a total of 166 at the national level.
Of the top 10 areas with the highest prevalence of the virus, five were Dublin, three were Donegal and the other two were Offaly.
Balbriggan had the second highest incidence rate at 546.9, followed by Letterkenny and Buncrana, both in Donegal, which had rates of 416.2 and 415.8 respectively.
The HSE opened walk-in testing centers in areas across the country where there were large numbers of Covid-19 cases, including in Dublin and Offaly.
Only one LEA from Munster was recorded in the 20 areas with the highest rate of Covid-19, and that was Roscrea-Templemore in Co Tipperary, which had an incidence rate of 313.4 per 100,000 and recorded 52 cases in the last two weeks. .
However, the incidence rate in Roscrea-Templemore has decreased since last week, when the rate was 409.8 cases per 100,000 residents.
The number of LEAs that registered fewer than five new Covid-19 cases had risen in recent weeks, but this number decreased this week to nine areas, from 14.
Kanturk in Cork, Westport and Belmullet in May, Connemara North in Galway, Skibbereen and Bantry in West Cork, Castleisland in Kerry, Lismore in Waterford and Kenmare in Kerry were almost virus-free.
Several areas that had an incidence rate of 0 last week have lost that status due to an increase in new cases: Kilrush and Killaloe in Clare, Glenties in Donegal, Macroom area in Cork, South Connemara in Galway and Ballinamore and Manorhamilton in Leitrim. .
Munster dominated the lower end of the spectrum with 13 of the 20 areas with the lowest rate of Covid-19 in Cork, Kerry or Waterford.
The figures come as health authorities asked the public to keep social contacts low for the next several weeks, particularly over Easter weekend, until the vaccination program can begin to suppress the virus.
- The highest level of Covid-19 infection can be found in Tullamore, Co Offaly, which recorded 823.1 cases per 100,000 residents during the past two weeks.
- It is followed by Balbriggan in Dublin, which had an incidence rate of 546.9 per 100.00.
- Letterkenny in Donegal was next at 416.2, followed by Buncrana in Donegal at 415.8 and Ongar in Dublin at 401.9
- There were nine areas with the lowest infection rate, each of which had fewer than five cases in the past 14 days.
- Kanturk, Skibbereen and Bantry in Cork; Belmullet and Westport in May; Connemara North in Galway; Castleisland and Kenmare in Kerry; and Lismore in Kerry were all listed as nearly virus-free due to low levels of new cases.
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