No one source for surge on Covid cases in Offaly, says public health expert

There is no one source behind the surge of Covid-19 cases in Co Offaly because the virus is “in the community”, the Director of Public Health for the Midlands, Dr Una Fallon, has said.

Offaly has the highest 14-day incidence rate in the State with 424.6 cases per 100,000 of the population

This case rate is more than double the national average, of 157.1.

There were 47 cases of coronavirus confirmed in the county on Sunday and another 30 announced on Monday evening.

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Cases of Covid-19 in the county have been amplified in “all of the settings we have been familiar with,” including workplaces, factories, crèches, and at funerals, Dr Fallon said.

“When it gets into particular settings where people are congregating it amplifies and we get a cluster or an outbreak. That is basically what has happened in Co Offaly,” she said.

Offaly was one of three counties placed under a higher restrictions last summer when outbreaks at meat factories led to a surge in cases.

Dr Fallon said meat plants were “not a particular source at this current time”, but she conceded there were cases linked to the factories.

“I think meat factories have very good controls in place now and we know exactly what to do when cases arise. I think we are pretty much in control of that situation,” she said.

Dr Fallon said there have been outbreaks in other types of factories, but the Health Service Executive has been “on them pretty quickly”.

The “substantial” outbreak at a creche in Tullamore is “now under control”, she went on.

The owner of the creche, Sharon Moyles, told The Irish Times that eight staff had tested positive for Covid-19 and there had been 15 cases among the children.

The majority of the children affected there are understood to be asymptomatic and in good health, while some are displaying minor symptoms.

Dr Fallon urged people not to go to work if they were experiencing coronavirus symptoms “until you know your illness is not Covid”.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said Ireland’s coronavirus outbreaks paint a “mixed picture”.

Outbreaks across the country are “all adding up” to create the current level of stubbornly high case numbers.

Speaking at the Department of Health on Monday evening, Dr Glynn said Limerick was experiencing an ongoing outbreak among students, while there is also a “number of outbreaks” in the Irish Traveller community across a number of counties.

Meanwhile, a “small number” of outbreaks have occurred in schools. Work places, in particular meat processing facilities, are also experiencing clusters of cases, he added.

“It is a mixed picture to be honest. There isn’t any one outbreak dominating in any one area of the country,” he said.