Number of Covid-19 outbreaks up for first time since March

The number of Covid-19 outbreaks increased last week, for the first time since March.

A total of 47 outbreaks of the virus were reported last week, compared to 42 the previous week. In this wave of the pandemic, the number of outbreaks peaked at 195 in the last week of March.

There were seven hospital outbreaks last week, all in the east or west of the country, up from four the previous week, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. The outbreaks were generally small, with no more than seven cases involved.

Outbreaks in nursing homes fell by four, and outbreaks in residential institutions by two.

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A total of 211 people with Covid-19 have died in nursing homes, community hospitals and long-stay units in the current wave of the pandemic, since Christmas, according to the HPSC. They ranged in age from 52 to 101 years.

The number of cases continues to decline, according to a separate HPSC report. There were 6,371 new Covid-19 cases confirmed by PCR test last week, down 26.7 per cent on the previous week. In addition, 8,063 positive antigen tests were reported to the HSE, a reduction of 19.7 per cent. These figures may be under-estimates due to a failure to detect or report infections.

Incidence fell in all age groups and in all counties.

Fourteen Covid-19-related deaths were reported last week, with an average age of 78. Total deaths in April were 167, though more may yet be reported.

Meanwhile, a second case of the XE recombinant variant has been detected through genomic sequencing.

XE, a combination of the BA.1 and BA.2 sublineages of the Omicron variant, is believed to be 10 per cent more transmissible than Omicron.

One case of Omicron XE was identified from a case that occurred in early February, and now a second dating back to early April has been detected.

There may be further cases in the community, as only a tiny proportion of cases are genomically sequenced. More than 1,300 XE cases have been detected in the UK, including a small number in Northern Ireland.

Two further Omicron sublineages, BA.4 and BA.5, have recently attracted attention after being linked to a rise in cases in South Africa but the National Virus Reference Laboratory says it has yet to detect them in Ireland.

The concern about these new mutations is that they could lead to more people becoming re-infected.

Covid-19 continues to be detected in wastewater sampling carried out across the country. Last week, the virus was detected in 63 out of 68 samples taken from wastewater catchment areas. Viral load was dropping 27 areas and rising in six.

There were 310 patients with Covid-19 in hospital on Friday morning, down from 336 the previous day.