Public health concerns over household clusters grow as Covid cases in Limerick top 10,000

Public health doctors have expressed alarm at a concerning pattern of infection where a single case can lead to multiple clusters and entire household outbreaks 

University Hospital Limerick was hard hit by the third wave of the coronavirus. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Health officials in the mid-west are extremely worried about the level of household clusters of Covid-19 in the region which have seen cases soar since the start of the year.

Over the course of the pandemic there have been 16,688 cases recorded in the mid-west  - 10,034 in Limerick, 4,442 in Clare, and 2,212 in North Tipperary. But the HSE has pointed out that the majority of the infections were recorded in January and February this year.

Public health doctors there are alarmed at a concerning pattern of infection where a single case can lead to multiple clusters and entire household outbreaks of the virus. 

Since the arrival of the now dominant UK variant or B117 strain in the country, public health officials have said household outbreaks are now spreading to extended family, workplaces, and further community clusters.

Health authorities have highlighted the effects of social mixing on the spread of the new coronavirus among communities with entire sections of housing estates and a number of apartments within the same building becoming infected. 

“Household transmission is becoming a significant factor Covid-19 infection in the Mid-West region," said Dr Mai Mannix, the director of Public Health in the Mid-West. 

“A large number of new clusters are arising out of regular household visits, across all age groups. Whether it’s having tea at a friend’s or watching a sports game together at the weekend, all forms of social contact in a household and can and will lead to outbreaks amid current continued community transmission," she said. 

Dr Mannix urged the public to be vigilant for the symptoms of the virus and to not hesitate to contact their GP to schedule a coronavirus test.

“If you or a member of your household is showing mild symptoms, please contact your GP to consider booking a test. By getting swabbed, you could save a life,” she said. 

The new UK variant of an already highly infectious disease has resulted in more infections from new cases and appears to be more transmissible according to the Department of Public Health. 

However, the impact of the latest level 5 restrictions are evident in the Mid-West region's incidence rate and the number of new cases reported daily. 

At the peak of the third wave, there were 901 new cases on January 2 there. That has dropped to 23 new cases on February 2

Nonetheless, health authorities in the mid-west continue to battle long-term serious outbreaks of the virus in workplaces and in long-term care facilities.   

A number of nursing homes across Munster required the intervention of the Defence Forces to provide support to staff off work with the virus or identified as a close contact. 

One nursing home in Ennis, Co Clare, had 19 confirmed cases among residents at one point and was subject to social media disinformation. 

The chairperson of the Cahercalla Community Hospital and Hospice described claims that staff had walked out of the facility as "completely inaccurate".

In the first two weeks of the new year, it emerged there had been 360 cases of Covid-19 across 18 outbreaks in nursing and long-term care facilities in the Mid-West region.