The three local electoral areas in Laois have all experienced a spike in Covid-19 cases, the latest figures show.
It is, of course, unsurprising, given that the virus has never been as prevalent in the county at any time during the pandemic as it is now.
The latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), published on Thursday, examines the 14-day incidence rate of Covid-19 from December 29 up to January 11 in each of the State’s 166 electoral areas.
The area of Laois which showed the greatest increase in cases was in Graiguecullen-Portarlington.
It recorded 404 new cases in that two week period, compared with just 81 in the two weeks before.
A large proportion of that, around 92 cases, can be directly linked to the outbreak at Droimnin Nursing Home in Stradbally which has claimed ten lives too.
The incidence rate per 100,000 of the virus in Graiguecullen-Portarlington for that period is 1,437.9, up from 288, and above the national average of 1,410.3.
The other two electoral areas in Laois didn’t fare much better. Portlaoise recorded 282 new cases, up from 92, to give it an incidence rate of 887 – up from 289.
While Borris-In-Ossory-Mountmellick had 181 new cases, up from just 34 in the previous 14-day period, giving it an incidence rate of 729.6 – up from 137.
In total, that means that between December 29 and January 11, a total of 867 new cases were recorded in Laois.
And when you consider that from the time that pandemic began back in March, to now, Laois has recorded 2,091 cases in total – it gives a clearer picture of the scale of the outbreak the county and country is dealing with.
Despite our high numbers, we are still nowhere near some of the worst affected areas.
Belmullet in Mayo tops that unfortunate table as the area has an incidence of 6,031 per 100,000, with 760 cases among the population of 12,600 in the last 14 days – meaning roughly one in every 17 people has tested positive.
Dundalk South, Louth, has the second highest rate of the virus at 3,782. There were 1,227 new cases among the local area population of 32,436.
While Adare-Rathkeale local electoral area in Limerick has the third highest rate at 3,118 per 100,000 people.
Dungarvan in Waterford had the lowest rate of the virus in the last two weeks, with 101 cases across a population of 20,497, for an incidence rate of 492.
While one local area in Athlone had the second lowest rate of the virus, at 506 cases per 100,000.
Other areas with low rates include Arklow, Wicklow (530), Conamara north, Galway (593), and Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim (598).
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