Covid-19 cases linked to workplace outbreaks remain high, despite level 5 lockdown
Employers have been urged to facilitate remote working to curb the spread of Covid-19. Picture: Brian Arthur
Cases of Covid-19 linked to workplaces are second only to nursing homes for their regularity according to the latest data released from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Some 110 cases of the virus have been linked to nursing homes for the week ending February 12. This was followed by 70 cases of the coronavirus sourced to workplaces in the same time period.
However, both figures are a marked decline compared to the reported peak in cases of the third wave for outbreaks associated with both locations.
For the week ending January 15, 1,721 outbreaks of the virus were identified in nursing homes in the country while 493 Covid-19 infections were recorded in workplaces for the week ending January 29.
Public Health reports outbreaks of the virus to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and links cases to these outbreaks. The CSO said due to the surge in case numbers this is taking longer and Public Health have prioritised outbreaks in key settings as a result.
In the previous four weeks, Public Health has reported 7,259 cases linked to an outbreak.
A breakdown of these cases in the last four weeks shows:
- 2,120, 29% were in nursing homes,
- 1,373, 19% were in hospital or a community hospital/long-stay unit
- 506, 7% were in residential institutions.
- 1,260, 17% were in the workplace.
Meanwhile, the average number of close contacts for cases has fallen from three contacts on average per case in early January with the average for the week ending February 12 now at two.
4,686 cases of the virus were confirmed that week meaning the details of more than 9,000 close contacts were recorded in the week.
Older people aged 80 years and older have the lowest number of close contacts, averaging less than two, while children aged between 0-14 averaged the same amount.
People in the age brackets, 15-24, 25-44, and 45-64 are now averaging the same amount of close contacts at roughly 2.5.
Testing referrals from residential settings and institutions has remained consistent but the number of healthcare and essential workers sent for testing has fallen.
Less than half of referrals for the week ending February 12 were from GPs at 43%, a decrease from 79% for the week ending January 1.
In general, testing for potential cases has fallen over the past four weeks from 155.939 samples sent for testing in the week ending January 22, down to 117,123, last February 12.
The positivity rate in the week ending February 12 was 5.6%, down from 6.1% the previous week. Samples from people aged 25-44 make up the highest numbers sent for testing.
Hospital admissions for the virus have been decreasing since the peak of 1,348 in the week ending January 15 and were 348 in the week ending February 12.
ICU admissions have also decreased from the peak of 126 in the week ending January 08 to 12 in the week ending February 12.
This morning, 754 people with Covid-19 are in hospitals, which is a 62% decrease from the peak last month.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, most deaths have occurred in the older age groups. For the week ending February 12, 91% of deaths were in people aged 65 years and over.
This week the death toll from the virus passed 4,000 on Wednesday when 57 Covid-related fatalities were recorded.
This year in the month of January alone, more cases were confirmed than in all of 2020.
Public health officials have continued to warn of the increased transmissibility of the new Covid variants and report the B117 strain first identified in the UK as now the most dominant form of the virus identified.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said the Covid-19 situation in Ireland "remains precarious" despite good progress made in recent weeks.
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