Outbreak of 135 Covid-19 cases linked to Galway students

The number of cases associated with student clusters in Galway ranges from two to 40.

NUI Galway's Student President defended its students on the national airwaves this morning, rejecting the idea that students believe "the rules don't apply to them."

He was responding to reports of 135 cases of Covid-19 linked to students in Galway, including some 15 clusters.

Speaking on Newstalk, NUI Galway Students' Union President Pádraic Toomey said there are always going to be "people who don't comply with the guidelines" in every age group,

“There’s always going to be a few that break an extra rule or two.” 

However, Mr Toomey said that the students union have not received reports of any “large-scale” parties.

"There is, of course, minor instances that will happen around the city, but that’s the same with any age group."

Yesterday, Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE confirmed that 135 cases of Covid-19 have been linked to students in Galway, with 15 clusters associated with these cases. The number of cases associated with these clusters ranges from two to 40.

The NUI Galway Students' Union President said the university has “the unfortunate title” of having the highest number of students who are not from its catchment area. As such, many of those students live in shared accommodation rather than family homes, making it much more difficult to isolate from their peers.

“Students from all over the country come to NUI Galway...that probably wouldn't help the whole situation," he said. 

Questioned on why students are returning to Galway, despite the fact most lecturers are taking place online, Mr Toomey said there are a number of reasons students are returning, including requiring reliable broadband which is not available to them in their home.

“I'm from Tipperary and the internet in Tipperary is shocking. So you have to come to a city, you have to come somewhere that there is reliable Wi-Fi," he said.

“I've lived with the same housemates for the last three years and we all study the same course, so it would make sense that you'd come together to live together and to have reliable broadband.

“Back home too, there could be households full of children, a lot of people are working from home at the moment and there's just not a quiet space where you could be doing your studies."

The University of Limerick recently began offering on-campus Covid-19 testing to its students after the Department of Public Health Mid-West identified evidence of an increase of cases among students living in the immediate vicinity of the campus.