CAVAN IS THE COVID CAPITAL OF IRELAND
With one in 100 people now diagnosed with the virus, the highest incidence rate in the country, what has gone wrong in the border county?
ONE in every 100 people living in the border county of Cavan has been diagnosed with Covid-19, disturbing new figures show.
The revelation follows a number of recent worries about day-trippers arriving here from the North, as a loophole in our lockdown laws means they are not affected by the rules.
Garda Comissioner Drew Harris was so concerned about the visitor problem, in the run-up to the May Bank Holiday, that he warned that day-trippers travelling here from the North were ‘likely’ to be breaking Northern laws.
Now, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), Cavan has 765 confirmed cases of coronavirus, giving it an ‘incidence rate’ of more than 1,000 (1,004.3) – making it the first county to do so.
The county’s incidence rate – that is based on the number of infections per 100,000 people living in the county – is well ahead of Dublin, the county with the most confirmed cases, as well as other counties with similar populations.
Cavan Sinn Féin TD Pauline Tully has told the Irish Daily Mail that she wants an investigation.
‘It is worrying, I’ve noticed it is quite high in Monaghan and it is quite high in Louth, Longford, Westmeath, is it related to being on the border? I think it warrants an investigation into what exactly is happening,’ she said.
‘I thought initially, when these high figures started to emerge that the testing had been very slow coming back and we were getting the numbers who tested positive quite a number of weeks ago. But overall [the numbers] are still adding up. I don’t specifically have an answer but I do think we need clarification and there should be an investigation into why it is so high [in Cavan] and other border counties as well.’
As of Monday night, Cavan had 765 confirmed cases of the disease in its population of around 76,000, giving an incidence rate of 1,004.3. Offaly, with a population of nearly 78,000, has had 360 infections resulting in an incidence rate of 461.8. Laois with a population of approximately 84,700 has 249 confirmed cases for a rate of 294.
Monaghan is also experiencing a high rate of infection. So far it has had 458 infections, which means its incidence rate is 746.1.
Dublin has over 11,000 confirmed cases and an incidence rate of 834.4. Cavan has 3.3% of Covid-19 cases in total.
Kildare, Cork and Meath all have more infections than Cavan but have higher populations.
Cavan’s high incidence rate first made news late last month when it overtook Dublin. This prompted a number of people to question why Cavan in particular was experiencing such an increase.
Dr Gabriel Scally, who authored the review into CervicalCheck, said that a rise in the number of cases should be investigated.
There was speculation that Cavan’s proximity to the border may explain why there has been such a dramatic increase.
Business Minister Heather Humphreys had previously attributed the high number of infections in Cavan, where she is a TD, to a high outbreak in Cavan General Hospital in late March, which resulted in a significant amount of healthcare staff becoming ill, and the fact that there are a number of large nursing homes in the county.
Ms Humphreys said there is no evidence to suggest the increase in the numbers was as a result of Cavan’s proximity to the border.
The Department of Health was contacted yesterday for comment but no response was received.
‘It warrants an investigation’