FIVE of the seven Local Electoral Areas in Donegal have seen a reduction in the 14-day incidence of Covid-19 cases.
Covid rates in Letterkenny, Milford and Glenties are now all below the national average. Numbers have also dropped in Carndonagh and notably in the Lifford-Stranorlar area, previously one of the hardest hit areas in the State.
Donegal, which had the highest 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 in the country earlier in the month, has dropped back to eighth in the rankings at 321 per 100,000.
But while things are going in the right direction for much of the county, data does show the 14-day volume of confirmed cases has risen in both Buncrana and Donegal when compared with last week when data was reported for the period from September 29 to October 12.
Buncrana now stands at 505 per 100,000, up from 487 and Donegal now has 321, an increase from 294 in the past seven days.
In the Lifford-Stranorlar LEA, the 14-day incidence of Covid-19 rates per 100,000 continues to drop. It is down by 100, from 610 to 510 per 100,000, in the past week. The figures are also encouraging in Carndonagh, down from 442 to 336 per 100,000, while Letterkenny, with a rate of 275 per 100,000, has slipped below the national incidence rate. Lower amounts continue to be observed in Milford (116) and Glenties (155).
In terms of cases numbers, 82 cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Letterkenny EA in the 14 days up to October 19.
Last night there were 53 new cases reported in Donegal.
The 14 day data is updated weekly on Thursdays and illustrates where the virus is spreading across 166 local electoral areas.
Reiterating the need for people to adhere to Level Five guidelines, Chief Medical Office Dr Tony Holohan said, “We all need to stay at home, except for essential work and exceptional circumstances.
“If you are a confirmed case self isolate at home, if you are a close contact of a confirmed case restrict your movements at home, if you are experiencing symptoms or believe you are a close contact – restrict your movements and contact your GP.”
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Heather Burns noted that the 14-day incidence was at three per 100,000 at the end of June, today it is 302 per 100,000 population.
“The risk of you being exposed to Covid-19 is now 100 times greater than it was four months ago. Please limit your risk by staying at home and following public health advice.”‘The risk of you being exposed to Covid-19 is now 100 times greater than it was four months ago.’
Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, said the collective goal now is to suppress transmission of the virus and bring case numbers to manageable levels.
“If we work hard together to get the reproduction number to 0.5 we should succeed in reducing cases to below 100 a day in six weeks time,” Philip Nolan added.