Carndonagh still has the highest levels of Covid-19 infection in the State

National incidence rate of the virus has increased, according to latest data

Carndonagh in Co Donegal continues to have the highest levels of Covid-19 infection in the State.

The latest Covid-19 infection data based on local electoral areas (LEAs) shows that up until Monday Carndonagh had a 14-day Covid-19 incidence rate of 2,800 new cases per 100,000 of population, up from a rate of 1,975 per 100,000 in last week’s such LEA numbers.

Co Donegal continues to feature strongly in the upper reaches of the table of the rates of infection in the State’s 166 LEAs.

The national 14-day incidence rate has also increased, from 245 to 344 per 100,000. The information is provided by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) and published each Thursday on the official Government data hub.

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Buncrana, Co Donegal, also held onto its second place ranking for Covid-19 incidence among LEAs, and its numbers too are on the increase, with its 14-day incidence rate rising from 1,073 new cases per 100,000 in last week’s figures to 1,475 per 100,000. While the data set does not give any context, the rising numbers are in line with general Covid-19 updates and with the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant.

Co Donegal accounts for four of the top 10 slots in the latest set of LEA figures – Donegal town itself is in fifth place with an incidence rate of 955 new cases per 100,000, and Lifford in eighth at 680.

Last week, areas of the county made up three of the top five locations, and the county has been singled out for criticism before due to high spikes of Covid-19 there throughout the pandemic.

Co Louth, another Border county, has three of the top 10 LEAs in the latest figures – with Ardee in sixth (with an incidence rate of 908 per 100,000), Dundalk South in seventh (691 per 100,000) and Dundalk-Carlingford in ninth (668).

Galway City Central now occupies third position in the top 10, with an incidence rate of 1,034 new cases per 100,000. Last week's data saw cases increase sharply in the city, which then had the fourth-highest incidence level. Westport in Co Mayo was in fourth position this time about (with an incidence rate of 958 per 100,000).

In total there are now 21 LEAs where the 14-day incidence rate has surpassed 500, and three of those have breached the 1,000 mark.

At the other end of the scale, there are five areas that have so far kept transmission rates below the 100 new cases per 100,000 mark. These include Tramore, Co Waterford (98); Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary (87); Kilrush, Co Clare (71); Cahir, Co Tipperary (68), and Lismore, Co Waterford (47).

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times