Most Covid-19 cases in Cork linked with outbreaks

More than 500 cases of Covid-19 reported in Cork in the four-week period to April 2 were linked with outbreaks of the virus.

New figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that in the four weeks up to Friday April 2, 517 cases of Covid-19 reported in Cork were linked to an outbreak.

Overall, a total of 521 cases of Covid-19 were reported in Cork in the same four-week period.

A spokesperson for the HSE said that the high percentage of cases of Covid-19 in Cork which is being linked to outbreaks is a result of more detailed retrospective contact tracing taking place in the region.

This means the source of the cases is now being identified more frequently which is why more cases are being linked.

It also means that fewer cases are being classified as community transmission and are instead linked to outbreaks.

The CSO data also shows that nationally, in the four-week period, 4,930 cases were linked to an outbreak.

The under 24 age group made up 41% of all cases linked to an outbreak over this period.

There were 1,798 cases (36%) linked to an outbreak in private houses and 585 cases (12%) linked to an outbreak in the workplace in the last four weeks.

A total of 122 (2%) cases were in nursing homes, 280 (6%) were in hospitals or a community hospital/long-stay unit and 216 (4%) were in residential institutions.

The CSO figures also show that the average number of contacts per positive case per week was three in the week ending April 2, with Dublin and Offaly reporting the highest average number of contacts per positive case at four.

The average contacts per positive Covid-19 Case in Cork last week was 2.6.