How one Covid-19 case at a meatplant led to over 150 cases and a school outbreak

Dr Lorraine Doherty National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE at a Covid -19 update press conference at the Department of Health Dublin. Picture Stephen Collins / Photos Dublin

Health officials continue to warn about the potential rapid spread of Covid-19 in the community.

Yesterday, some 1,466 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, as were 47 deaths.

At the health briefing, Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said that if the public work collectively to reduce contacts then the incidence will continue to fall.

"We have achieved suppression of transmission with the R number estimated at 0.4-0.7," he said, adding that we could be at "200-400 cases per day by the end of February".

Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director for Health Protection HSE, HPSC reminded the public that one event can spark a chain of transmission that can spread throughout a community.

Dr Doherty gave two examples of how rapidly the virus can spread.

Graphic: Department of Health

One case of Covid-19 resulted in an outbreak of 159 cases in two meat plants.

Meat plant one: The 83 cases in this plant resulted in nine family outbreaks and 19 cases in private households, the household outbreaks then resulted in a school outbreak with seven linked cases among school students.

One of the linked cases from this meat plant works in the second meat plant resulting in the spread from one plant to the other.

Meat plant two: The 76 cases linked with this outbreak resulted in 19 family outbreaks and 35 cases in private houses, the household outbreaks resulted in two community outbreaks with two additional linked cases.

A separate example saw an outbreak among third level students in the Midwest lead to 21 further cases.

Graphic: Department of Health

The student outbreak saw 61 linked cases. One student linked with this outbreak went to work as a waitress at a wedding which resulted in transmission to staff and guests with 16 linked cases.

From these cases, there were two family household outbreaks with two additional linked cases and one extended family outbreak to family members in two households with two additional linked cases.