Covid19 infections have surged to a six-week high after 764 more people tested positive yesterday – 11 in Carlow and eight in Kilkenny.
The infection rate in adults aged 18 to 44 has doubled in the last nine days.
Four more patients have died.
Professor Anthony Staines of DCU says Britain’s new mutant strain shouldn’t be dramatically harder to control.
Incidence Rate
The 14-day incidence rate is still significantly high locally with both Carlow & Kilkenny close to 200 per 100,000 population.
Kilkenny’s is now at 197.5 with Carlow’s at 195.
They’re higher than the national figure of 112.2.
Hospitals
As of 7am this morning (Monday, 21st December) the latest figures for St Luke’s Hospital showed that as of 8pm Saturday (19th December) the numbers of patients being treated had decreased.
22 people with the virus were being looked after there, down from a recent high of 33.
Three were still in the critical care unit.
There were no further suspected cases noted at that time.
Meanwhile, for the same period 13 people with Covid19 were being treated at University Hospital Waterford, with three more suspected cases there.
