Cases in the county have been on the rise every day for the past week.
The Department of Public Health Mid-West has expressed “serious concerns” regarding a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in Limerick.
According to the Department, the rise in cases is connected to various social gatherings in the past two weeks.
These include house parties, indoor gatherings and social activities surrounding last week’s Eid celebrations.
Also contributing to the increase in cases is significant onward transmission from weekend social events into workplaces.
Provisional Public Health Mid-West data shows there were 11 cases on Sunday, 20 cases on Monday, 22 cases on Tuesday, 38 cases on Wednesday and 46 new cases on Thursday in Limerick.
This data is subject to change due to future information validation, the Department noted.
In a statement, Director of Public Health Mid-West Dr Mai Mannix said: “We have not seen this level of infection in the community since early March, which is a very worrying trend.
“If daily cases continue at this rate, coupled with the health services coping with the sinister cyber attack, we will find ourselves in a very troubling position.”
While the cyber attack against the HSE’s IT systems has caused significant disruptions, the Department of Public Health Mid-West says it remains in a “strong position” to identify these behavioural trends and “swiftly manage new outbreaks”.
It said: “Our priority is to identify new cases, isolate them and undertake contact tracing. The faster this happens, the faster we can control the spread of Covid-19.”
People who have symptoms or are concerned they may have been exposed to Covid-19 are urged to arrange a PCR test at the Limerick Covid Test Centre.
MEDIA STATEMENT?
We are expressing serious concerns over a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Limerick, connected to social gatherings in the past two weeks.
We have not seen this level of infection in the community since early March, which is a very worrying trend. pic.twitter.com/nVfyyIa30w
— Public Health Mid-West (@PublicHealthMW) May 21, 2021
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