Dublin accounts for more than a quarter of new Covid-19 cases

CSO data show Dublin accounts for a quarter of all new Covid diagnosis. Picture: Collins Photos

It is the sixth week in a row that Dublin has had fewer than 1,000 weekly cases, and is still accounting for more than 25% of all new Covid-19 diagnoses.

That's according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, which shows that cases involving people over 65 across the country have been increasing in recent weeks.

These age groups made up 10% of cases in the week ending December 11, up from 5% in the week ending August 10, the statistics body said.

More than 20 people have died in each of the last nine weeks.

The average mortality rate in November was 12 people per 1,000 confirmed cases, down from a peak of 74 per 1,000 in April, but higher than in recent months, because of the rise in cases among older groups, the CSO said.

There were 64,061 referrals for community testing in the week ending December 11.

Referrals for testing decreased in the last week, in particular among the 45-to-64 age group, from 19,324 to 17,826 in the same week.

While healthcare-worker and essential-worker referrals for testing have remained consistent for the last number of weeks, contact testing, at-risk groups, and general Covid-19 testing have increased in December, the CSO said.

A significant number of tests are completed in hospitals, as well as a time lag between referral and test completion, the CSO said, while several referrals do not result in a test being completed. 

However, weekly numbers from HSE labs and hospitals show that 78,416 tests were completed in the week ending December 11, and the positivity rate was 2.5%, down from 2.6% the previous week.

Since the start of the pandemic, 42,163 positive cases have been linked to an outbreak, which is defined as two or more cases in the same location and time. 

Outbreaks in hospitals accounted for 14% of cases, and nursing homes for 9% of cases linked to an outbreak in November and December, up from 2% and 5% of cases linked to an outbreak in September and October.