Interactive map shows Ireland's Covid hotspots as rates of infection accelerate
There are fears that some parts of Ireland could be heading towards exponential growth of Covid infections.
Covid infections have increased at a faster rate in Ireland and other parts of Europe in the past week, according to information collated by the Department of Health in the North.
The latest official update shows the number of confirmed cases is doubling at a faster rate in the past week compared to the previous week. The doubling rate is the amount of time it takes for case numbers to double and is used as an indicator of exponential growth.
In Ireland, the doubling rate was 434.5 days in the past week compared with 589.6 days in the previous week.
The doubling rate has also shortened in the UK, France, Italy, and Spain over the past week, meaning that the virus is spreading more quickly.
The latest available data for Ireland shows where Covid rates are highest and lowest across the island.
The Derry and Donegal areas have the highest infection rates.
On Monday, the Derry City and Strabane areas had 362 cases per 100,000 population in the last seven days, while Buncrana in Donegal had the highest Covid infection rate at six times the national average — 608.1 cases per 100,000 population in the previous 14 days — according to the latest local data available in Ireland.
High infection rates are evident at either end of the island, from the Causeway Coast and Glens area — which takes in Ballycastle, Coleraine, and Portrush — to Dungarvan in Waterford, where infection rates were the second highest in Ireland (600.1 cases per 100,000 population).
Other Covid hotspots are evident in Carndonagh in Co Donegal; Athlone; the eastern and northern parts of Limerick City; and in Castleknock, Ongar, and Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart in Dublin.
At the other end of the scale, there are 20 almost virus-free local areas across Ireland that have reported less than five cases in the previous fortnight, while the mid- and east-Antrim area had the lowest infection rate in the North, where Covid testing and infection rates are available at postal district level.
The highest infection rates were evident in Derry City and the Castlewellan and Newcastle areas of Co Down.
To date, 2,156 people have died in the North, with one Covid death recorded on July 1, the first since early June.
The release of local data in Ireland only resumed last week, after a cyberattack on the HSE’s computer system in mid-May impacted on Covid updates and information. The number of deaths from Covid in Ireland remains unavailable at present but 5,000 deaths have been confirmed since the pandemic began.
This week, British prime minister Boris Johnson announced plans to lift the final remaining public health measures in England from July 19, although Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales may not follow suit.
Amid concerns over rising Delta infection rates, the Irish Government has pressed pause on reopening plans, including plans to reopen indoor hospitality, which could now open later this month.
The European Centre for Disease Surveillance has predicted that the more infectious Delta variant will be dominant across Europe by August and this week cautioned that some countries, such as Portugal and Cyprus, which recently relaxed public health measures, have already seen a rise in infections.
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