Clare now has a higher rate of COVID cases than Dublin.
The latest figures from the HPSC show the county’s incidence rate is now at 182.6 per 100,000 people, placing it third highest in the country.
West Clare and Ennis have some of the highest rates of anywhere in the country.
Clare now has the third highest incidence of COVID-19 in the country, behind only Donegal and Monaghan.
217 cases have been recorded here in the fortnight to Wednesday, and health officials have indicated that case numbers will continue to be high today and into the weekend.
The latest localised data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre shows the number of cases here is growing in all parts of the county, but is at its highest in the Kilrush and Ennis Local Electoral Areas.
The Kilrush electoral area has had 61 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the two weeks to Monday, giving it the highest rate of anywhere in Munster, while the Ennis electoral area – which has a bigger population – had 70 confirmed cases in the same two week period.
The HSE says there have been a number of outbreaks in towns in the West, many among extended families.
Cases are also associated with pubs, restaurants, sporting events, students attending third level and schools.
The Midwest’s Director of Public Health Dr Mai Mannix has warned that if figures don’t start to fall across the country over the next week, increased restrictions are likely to be imposed at national level.
179 people are being treated at hospitals across the country, up 20 from yesterday.
9 of those are at University Hospital Limerick, including 2 in the Intensive Care Unit.
HSE CEO Paul Reid says “surge capacity” of 350 ICU beds could be brought on stream nationally, but he believes that would lead to other problems.
Despite the significant rise in COVID cases here, new figures from the CSO show – thankfully – that the disease has not led to any deaths in Clare in recent months.
Their statistics, which cover up to last Friday, record no COVID-related deaths in Clare since the beginning of July.
In all, forty people have lost their lives as a result of COVID-19 in this county since the beginning of the pandemic.
