People in Clare are being urged not to become complacent, even as the county becomes effectively ‘COVID-free’ for the first time in four months.
It’s been 28 days since the last new case here, which health officials say is the length of time it takes for a location to be considered free of the virus.
But other counties have already reported new cases after hitting this milestone, and officials are warning about a rise in cases throughout the country.
The latest official statistics have once again shown no fresh cases of COVID-19 in Clare, making it 28 days since the last diagnoses in this county.
It’s the equivalent of two back-to-back 14-day quarantine periods, and has previously been indicated as the time in which medical experts consider a location to be free of coronavirus.
Clare is not the first county to reach this milestone, but it is the only one that is considered ‘COVID-free’ at the minute.
Both Sligo and Kerry have reached this milestone before, but then saw further positive cases, and experts say that’s likely to happen here too.
Ennis GP, Dr Maura Finn says people in Clare can be proud of what we’ve achieved, but she’s warning it’s too soon to relax.
Former Mayor of Ennis, Ann Norton contracted COVID-19 in early stages of the pandemic and said today that she’s still feeling the impact of the disease, even though she has largely recovered.
The Barefield Independent Councillor says it’s not something to be taken lightly.
The positive news in Clare comes as the latest CSO figures show an increase in new Covid-19 cases across the country for the first time in over two months, with 78 people diagnosed with the virus last week.
For eight consecutive weeks Clare, Tipperary, Leitrim, Longford and Wexford have recorded less than 10 new cases. For Donegal, Laois and Kerry it’s been nine successive weeks and Waterford; ten weeks.
Dublin continues to be worst affected county, accounting for 51 per cent of all COVID deaths.
There are more women than men contracting the virus, while Healthcare workers continue to make up a third of all cases.
All of the most recent cases confirmed across the country were in people under the age of 45 and public health experts are expressing concern that people will gather this weekend, without social distancing.
Chair of the Covid Expert Advisory Group, Dr Cillian de Gascun, says imposing local measures could be on the cards:
