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The Belmullet area in May continues to have the highest Covid infection rate nationally, with one in 50 people testing positive for the virus in the past two weeks.
The most recent data on Covid infection levels in local electoral areas (LEAs) shows that the 14-day infection rate in Belmullet has tripled over the last fortnight, a trend replicated in other parts of the country.
On January 11, the rural area had an infection rate of 6,031 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but it fell to 2,007.9 infections per 100,000 inhabitants as of January 25.
The national average infection rate stood at 721.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants last Monday.
LEA data also shows that infection rates remain high in some border counties, such as Monaghan, where the entire county continues to have above-average infection rates; In the city of Monaghan, the infection rate is double the national average at 1,762.5 cases per 100,000 population.
Parts of Louth, Wexford, Dublin, and Kildare also rank among Covid’s top ten hotspots nationally.
Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim had the lowest infection rate in the country at 211.2 cases per 100,000 population.
Data from the local area also shows how viral spread has changed in Munster, where infection rates are declining but remain high in parts of Cork.
The southern and eastern parts of the city of Waterford have the highest infection rates in Munster (between 1109.3-1241.3 cases per 100,000 residents) as of Monday this week, although rates are declining there.
Limerick, however, has seen a significant drop in cases.
The Adare-Rathkeale area previously had one of the highest infection rates nationally and in Munster, but the situation has since changed.
From a peak rate of 3,118 cases per 100,000 residents on January 11, the infection rate has dropped to 707.3 cases per 100,000 residents on January 25.
Previously high rates in Limerick City have also more than halved in the past two weeks, while Limerick’s Cappamore-Kilmallock area remains in the top ten Covid-19 hotspots in Munster.
Infection rates are also declining in Cork, although some parts of the city remain above the national average: Cork City to the northwest (943.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Cork City to the northeast (856, 6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and the city of Cork to the southeast (825.1 cases). cases per 100,000 inhabitants).
In the five LEA areas of Cork City, more than 1,700 cases were detected in the previous fortnight.
Elsewhere in the county, the Bandon-Kinsale area also had an above-average infection rate of 842.5 cases per 100,000 residents after 314 cases were detected in the previous two weeks.
Across the country, more than 34,000 new cases were confirmed in the two weeks to January 25, representing a significant drop in detected cases.
The fall has allowed testing of close contacts of positive cases to resume as of Friday.
However, there are concerns about the number of people requiring hospital treatment and the growing number of deaths from Covid-19, which have surpassed 870 to date this month.
On Friday more than 1,500 people were receiving hospital treatment for the virus, with 211 people in intensive care.
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