Covid-19 outbreaks linked to schools fell by a third during mid-term

New figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show 30 new outbreaks in schools were recorded up until midnight on October 31.

New recorded outbreaks of Covid-19 linked to schools fell by more than a third last week during mid-term break.

New figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show 30 new outbreaks in schools were recorded up until midnight on October 31.

This compares to 46 new outbreaks recorded the week prior.

During the two weeks beforehand, the number of recorded outbreaks linked to schools rose each week, with 46 confirmed up until Saturday, October 17, and 25 the week before.

Since the beginning of the school year, 156 outbreaks have been detected in schools, according to the HPSC figures.

It defines an outbreak as two or more cases, and it says in the case of schools transmission within the school has not necessarily been established.

In terms of schools, the HPSC says these outbreaks are associated with school children and, or, school staff.

Overall, the number of new outbreaks decreased last week, from 680 the week before to 480 last week. The biggest fall can be seen in outbreaks linked to private homes, which went from 521 to 320.

When it comes to universities and colleges, seven new outbreaks were detected last week. This brings the total number of outbreaks since the beginning of the academic term to 16.

Childcare facilities saw an additional nine cases last week, bringing the total of outbreaks linked to such facilities to 64.

Of the 480 outbreaks recorded last week, 84 involved various food or beverage related industries, of which 52 were in meat, poultry, fish processing plants, and five were in mushroom farms. 

There were also five new outbreaks reported in vulnerable populations last week; One outbreak was in a prison, one was in a direct provision centre, and three were among members of the Irish Travelleing community. 

Meanwhile, Ireland has recorded eight further deaths related to Covid-19 as of midnight on November 3.

The HPSC has been notified of 444 confirmed cases in the country, bringing the total of confirmed cases of Covid-19 to 63,483 and the total number of Covid related deaths in the country to 1,930.

Of the most recent cases, 208 are men and 235 are women. Those who are under 45 years of age make up 61% of cases, while the median age is 37. Dublin, once again, has the highest number of cases at 158. Cork has recorded 48 new cases, Galway 36, and there have been 28 new cases in Limerick. The other 174 cases spread across 19 separate counties.

As of 2pm today, there were 310 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 41 are in ICU. This means there have been 25 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health said: “Every piece of public health advice we have given from the outset of this pandemic is designed to keep everyone protected from the impact of Covid-19. If you are a close contact of a confirmed case, you are asked to restrict your movements for 14 days and to attend for your two free Covid-19 test, one on day zero and one on day seven. This is because as an identified close contact, you have come into contact with the virus. It may take some time for this to become apparent, or for you to become infectious.”

“By staying at home for this entire 14-day period, you are helping to stop the spread of this dangerous disease. In following this important guidance, you are helping to bring this virus right back down to where we all need it to be and playing your part in this national effort.”