Donegal Covid test centre has 'jaw-dropping' 28% positivity rate
Local GP Dr Denis McAuley has described it as a "jaw-dropping" figure.
A test centre in Buncrana, Co Donegal has the highest swap positivity rate in the country, where about 28% of people who booked a test have received a positive result.
Local GP Dr Denis McCauley has described it as a "jaw-dropping" figure.
"Positivity rates, remember, could be 2.8% nationally, we get very excited when they're about 9% or 10% but 25% to 26% is exceptionally high," Dr McCauley said.
About 12% of Covid-19 tests taken in Co Louth are coming back positive, the highest in the country.
The second highest swab positivity rate by centre is Tallaght Stadium at 23%, followed by Castlesaunderson in Cavan, at 18%, then Ardee in Louth and South Douglas in Cork, which both have a rate of 14%.
Walk-in centres in Tullamore and Limerick also saw high positivity rates, at 22% and 16.7% respectively.
Dr McCauley is urging people to keep their guard up.
"If you're going indoors, and there's somebody in that grouping that has not been vaccinated, you should wear a mask because it is in these situations that the spread is particularly easy," he said.
The five counties with the highest percentage of positive tests are Louthm followed by Offaly, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan
About 80% of the population have finally received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, three weeks after the initial target.
The latest figures from the HSE show that almost 5.5m shots have been given out, with two-thirds of people fully vaccinated.
More than 65% of vaccines administered have been Pfizer/Bio-N-Tech, while 22% are AstraZeneca.
The head of the Health Service Executive (HSE) is warning the Delta variant remains a huge risk to the progress but believes the public can meet it head-on.
"Let's aim to support our healthcare workers having a manageable August. One that they all deserve," said Paul Reid
We've over 5.34M vaccines administered with 66% of adults now fully vaccinated & 80% partially. Delta poses a huge risk to this progress but one that we can meet head on. Let's aim to support our healthcare workers having a manageable August. One that they all deserve. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) July 22, 2021
Professor of Immunovirology at University College Cork Liam Fanning believes things will calm down in a few weeks.
"We have to keep watching brief on this virus," he said.
"Nonetheless, we have done extraordinarily well as a country and in two or three weeks I expect to see those numbers starting to decrease.
"Covid has made us all a kind of hostage, unfortunately, with regard to making timeline projections, but sometime in August we will definitely be on top of this as a result of our successful vaccination program."
Meanwhile, the five-day moving average of Covid-19 cases has risen by 160% in the past two weeks.
It has jumped from 471 to 1,223 – with almost 1,400 cases reported yesterday.
But indoor dining will reopen on Monday for people who are fully vaccinated, recently recovered from Covid, and their children.
Public health expert Professor Gabriel Scally said it was the wrong decision and would lead to a further spike in cases.
"Firstly, people who are fully vaccinated can be infected, they can get the infection, they can transmit the infection and they can be sick with infection," he said.
"Children and young people are not being vaccinated in large numbers and they can get the infection and get long Covid and suffer with the disease as well.
"It just doesn't make sense. It's an invitation to the virus to grow even faster."
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