County 6th lowest for incidence rate

CO Wexford continued its progress in relation to Covid-19 last week, finishing the week as the sixth lowest county in Ireland, with a 14-day incidence rate of 103.5 per 100,000 population; a drop from 171 the previous week.

In the past two weeks, the county has recorded just 155 new cases of the virus, a remarkable turnaround, considering we had been among the worst counties for new cases just a few short weeks ago. The main blot on our copybook came on Saturday, when the county saw 22 new cases, but this reverted to a figure of just 6 cases the following day.

There was little change at Wexford General Hospital in the past week either, with the latest figures indicating that 9 people were hospitalised and three people remained in the critical care unit.

The latest breakdown by electoral district showed improvements too. In the period between February 9 and 22, Enniscorthy recorded 67 new cases, Gorey (48), Wexford (37), New Ross (33), Rosslare (27) and Kilmuckridge (22). The lowest incidence rate per 100,000 population was in New Ross, which is a remarkable change of fortune, given how rampant the virus was in the community pre-Christmas.

The number of recorded Covid deaths in Wexford continues to increase. According to CSO figures, eight more people lost their lives due to the virus in the week from February 12 to 19. It brings the county’s total death toll to 120, of which 83 have occurred since January 8 of this year.