59 cases of Covid-19 linked to flight into Ireland

The study said this outbreak "demonstrates in-flight transmission".

Transmission of Covid-19 on a flight into Ireland may have led to 59 cases of the virus, a new study has said. The paper, written by the Department of Public Health in Ireland and published by Eurosurveillance, found that 13 passengers tested positive between two and 17 days after the flight. The flight in question was a long distance flight from the Middle East to Ireland during the summer, and the infections occurred despite a low occupancy onboard. Thirteen people who were on board the aircraft were later diagnosed with coronavirus. The study noted that groups of passengers who tested positive were not sitting near one another and most of them were wearing masks. That 7.5 hour-long flight is believed to have landed at Dublin Airport in June but the study did not reveal the airline or the departure point. The age of those on the flight who subsequently tested positive aged from one to 65 years. The study said that 15 of the passengers did not test positive for Covid-19, another passenger refused to have a test and the 11 other passengers could not be contacted. One of the passengers infected three members of their household with the virus while another passed it onto 25 others while staying in what the study said was "shared accommodation". Overall, a total of 59 cases of Covid-19 were linked to the flight. "Stringent on-board infection prevention and control measures are vital to reduce the risk of both symptomatic and asymptomatic in-flight transmission," the authors of the study said. "Restriction of movement on arrival and robust contact tracing are essential to limit propagation post-flight."