Muireann Duffy
Tullamore in Co Offaly continues to have the highest 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 of any Local Electoral Area (LEA) in the country.
The updated data from the Covid-19 Data Hub shows the area, which has a population of approximately 29,159, now has a rate of 755 cases per 100,000 having recorded 220 new cases of the virus in the two-week period ending March 22nd.
Buncrana in Co Donegal has the second highest incidence, with 519 cases per 100,000, after 116 new cases were detected there during the same period.
Roscrea-Templemore in Co Tipperary, Navan in Co Meath and Balbriggan in Dublin round out the top five, all with incidence rates around the 400 mark.
At the other end of the scale, 14 LEAs recorded fewer than five new cases in the 14-day period. Counties Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim and Mayo each had two LEAs with incidence rates of zero, while Donegal and Waterford both had one.
On a county-by-county basis, Offaly has the highest incidence rate in the country (450.2), followed by Donegal (260.6), Kildare (243.1), Dublin (238.6) and Meath (224.6).
Meanwhile, Kilkenny has the lowest rate in the country with 40.3, followed by Cork (42.6), Kerry (46) and Monaghan (48.9) and Leitrim (53.1).
'Particularly fragile'
In a letter sent to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last week, deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said in the seven days to March 17th the State recorded a 6 per cent increase in new cases compared to the previous week, calling the current Covid-19 situation in Ireland "particularly fragile".
Dr Glynn also noted that while the national 14-day incidence was decreasing, the seven-day incidence rate had begun to climb, increasing from 72 the week before to 77 on March 18th.
Incidence rates increased across the board in people aged 5-64, with the deputy CMO highlighting particular increases among those in the 5-12, 13-18, 19-24 and 25-39 age categories.
However, of the 7,048 cases reported in the preceding 14 days, only 3 per cent (242) were among healthcare workers.
On March 18th, Dr Glynn noted there was 345 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospital, falling from 366 on March 11th. This evening, Nphet confirmed there are now 312 people in hospital as of 8am this morning.
