Two student outbreaks lead to 377 Covid cases 

Vast majority of cases were recorded in the past four to five weeks, Department of Public Health Mid-West says

The Covid-19 testing centre on campus at the University of Limerick. Picture: Brian Arthur

Two large community outbreaks of Covid-19 have resulted in 377 cases among students in Limerick.

The Department of Public Health Mid-West has confirmed it has deployed resources to help manage the outbreaks.

“There is currently an active outbreak of 326 cases among students, largely associated with households in off-campus accommodation in the Castletroy area,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health Mid-West said, adding  the majority of cases were recorded since February.

“Within these outbreaks, there is a number of multi-household clusters,” the spokesperson said. It is understood the majority of these cases are associated with the University of Limerick, which will again hold free on-campus Covid tests this Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, the department also confirmed a separate, active outbreak of 51 cases among students associated with households in off-campus accommodation in Limerick City centre. 

“The vast majority of cases were recorded in the past four to five weeks,” the department said.

Mary Immaculate College

The cases are linked to an outbreak among students at Mary Immaculate College (MIC). 

A spokesperson for the college confirmed there were five additional cases over the past 10 days, up from 46 last week when an email was sent around to students asking them to avoid mixing households and attending social gatherings.

Students can avail of free testing by contacting MIC’s medical centre. A spokesperson for the department encouraged people to avoid any form of social gathering and household visits.

Young people have a unique high-risk profile; they tend to have a wider social network; they may have a part-time job; they often travel between households for third level and family, and they are generally more active.” 

“Young people are also more likely to carry Covid-19 without any symptoms. This means that if a young person is infected and does not strictly adhere to public health guidelines, they may unwittingly carry the virus into a new setting, and be the cause of an outbreak,” the spokesperson added.

They also encouraged all confirmed cases to speak openly with contact tracers who are investigating complex outbreaks.