Cost of Covid: how your county has coped during the deadly pandemic
Coronavirus has claimed far too many lives but some of us have suffered more than others,
CARLOW
Confirmed cases: 2,611 Covid-19 deaths: 46
Rate of deaths per 100k: 80.8
In April, an outbreak of Covid19 at Beechwood Nursing Home in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, claimed the lives of 10 residents. In the same month, the Carlow-based family of the first frontline medic to die in the UK’s coronavirus outbreak spoke of their loss. Amged El-Hawrani died at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester after becoming infected from treating Covid19 patients.
CAVAN
Confirmed cases: 4,587 Covid-19 deaths: 92
Rate of deaths per 100k: 120.8
Cavan overtook Dublin in April as the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, with the HSE data showing it had an incidence of 753.5 per 100,0000 people, compared with 684.6 in Dublin. On October 15, in response to the deteriorating situation with the virus along with counties Donegal and Monaghan, Cavan was placed on Level 4 restrictions. The rest of the country remained at Level 3.
CLARE
Confirmed cases: 4,513
Covid-19 deaths: 100
Rate of deaths per 100k: 84.2
The seaside town of Kilkee hit the headlines in August when hundreds of teenagers gathered in defiance of Covid-19 guidelines. Footage emerged on social media showing dozens of people crammed together in the town’s iconic bandstand. Nine people were arrested for public order incidents.
CORK
Confirmed cases: 21,098
Covid-19 deaths: 355
Rate of deaths per 100k: 65.4
The first-known community transmission in the State was identified in Cork University Hospital. It involved a 43-yearold man who was admitted to the hospital on February 25 with a headache and was later found to have pneumonia. He tested positive for Covid-19 on March 5. The case pre-dated the first imported Covid-19 case reported publicly by Nphet on February 29 – a north Dublin teenager who fell ill and was taken into isolation in hospital following his return from a trip to Italy.
DONEGAL
Confirmed cases: 8,335
Covid-19 deaths: 132
Rate of deaths per 100k: 82.9
The Lifford/Stranorlar region of Co Donegal was the national ‘hotspot’ for Covid-19 in September and October with a 14-day incidence at one point of 602.6 cases per 100,000 people. The county was upgraded to Level 3 of restrictions on September 26. Under Level 3, people were asked to stay in the county and leave only for essential purposes.
DUBLIN
Confirmed cases: 74,906
Covid-19 deaths: 1,476
Rate of deaths per 100k: 109.5
Along with Cavan, Kildare, Mayo and Monaghan, Dublin was proportionally one of the counties with the most deaths. Focus has been on international travel into the area. In June, passengers on a flight that landed in Dublin airport led to the spread of 59 Covid-19 cases around the country. In September, Dublin moved from Level 2 to Level 3. The action was in response to the deteriorating situation with the virus in the capital at that time.
GALWAY
Confirmed cases: 9,115
Covid-19 deaths: 98
Rate of deaths per 100k: 38
In August, just one day after the Government tightened Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings, it emerged that more than 80 people had attended an Oireachtas golf society event in Clifden. Included on the guest list were a host of high-profile figures from Irish political life. The fallout from the event included the resignation of then agriculture minister Dara Calleary. ThenEuropean commissioner Phil Hogan also resigned from office following further controversy over his travels across the country.
KERRY
Confirmed cases: 4,244 Covid-19 deaths: 46
Rate of deaths per 100k: 31.1
A direct provision centre in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, was the location of a serious Covid-19 outbreak in April. In December, Scoil Mhuire Killorglin in Co Kerry was forced to close after 17 cases of Covid were confirmed among students and staff. The entire school had to be tested, with all children asked to remain at home until December 30. Much of the community in the rural town was affected by the outbreak, with dozens of families spending Christmas in isolation.
KILDARE
Confirmed cases: 9,594
Covid-19 deaths: 244
Rate of deaths per 100k: 109.7
As Covid-19 made its way into nursing homes across the county in March and April, Ryevale nursing home in Leixlip, Co Kildare, was the setting for one of the worst outbreaks of the pandemic. The family-run facility recorded 40 confirmed or suspected coronavirus deaths, with a further 58 residents becoming infected. In August the county was put into a ‘localised lockdown’ due to concern over the high number of cases.
KILKENNY
Confirmed cases: 3,378
Covid-19 deaths: 69
Rate of deaths per 100k: 69.5
In April, two healthcare workers from St Luke’s hospital in Kilkenny died after contracting Covid-19. Leo Varadkar said the deaths of Jim Kenny and Catherine Whelan-Hickey remind “us
how healthcare workers put themselves at risk”.
LAOIS
Confirmed cases: 3,089
Covid-19 deaths: 67
Rate of deaths per 100k: 79.1
In early August, residents of Laois, along with those living in Kildare and Offaly, were put under a two-week local lockdown in a bid to control a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases. The lockdown of the three Leinster counties came after a number of localised clusters.
LEITRIM
Confirmed cases: 725
Covid-19 deaths: 13
Rate of deaths per 100k: 40.6
In October, a number of Leitrim GAA players tested positive for Covid-19. The team had previously been forced to pull out of their Allianz Football League clash with Down due to a lack of players as they awaited test results.
LIMERICK
Confirmed cases: 10,323
Covid-19 deaths: 188
Rate of deaths per 100k: 96.5
Proportionally, along with Dublin, Donegal, Louth and
Monaghan, Limerick was one of the counties hardest hit in terms of Covid-19 cases. Earlier this month, health officials in the midwest said they were extremely worried about the level of household clusters of Covid-19 in the Limerick area. Student gatherings have also been an issue in the city.
LONGFORD
Confirmed cases: 1,479 Covid-19 deaths: 17
Rate of deaths per 100k: 41.6
Longford has had a lower rate of deaths than many counties. In March, gardaí were called to a house in Longford town after dozens of people had gathered to attend a party. Up to 80 people are reported to have been attending a 21st birthday party despite social distancing warnings amid the Covid-19 crisis.
LOUTH
Confirmed cases: 8,008
Covid-19 deaths: 116
Rate of deaths per 100k: 90
As with other border counties like Monaghan and Donegal, Louth experienced high numbers of cases throughout the pandemic. Cross-border travel has been the subject of much debate in these areas. Nursing home outbreaks were also a contributing factor, including one at Dealgan House nursing home in Dundalk, where 23 residents died after contracting Covid-19.
MAYO
Confirmed cases: 5,833
Covid-19 deaths: 155
Rate of deaths per 100k: 118.8
Belmullet, a remote part of north-west Co Mayo, achieved notoriety in January because of a post-Christmas infections surge. Roughly one in 50 people are believed to have caught the infection over a two-week period. Local people and healthcare professionals have cited social gatherings as probable infection drivers.
MEATH
Confirmed cases: 9,124
Covid-19 deaths: 116
Rate of deaths per 100k: 59.5
In October, the Ratoath Electoral Area had one of the highest rates of Covid-19 in the country, with an incidence rate four times the national average. The spike in cases was linked locally to a number of post-match GAA celebrations.
MONAGHAN
Confirmed cases: 4,741
Covid-19 deaths: 69
Rate of deaths per 100k: 112.4
A border county, the area was the location of several significant nursing-home and meat plant outbreaks. Throughout the year, local GPs, including Dr Illona Duffy, cited cross-border travel as a contributing factor to high case numbers.
OFFALY
Confirmed cases: 3,161 Covid-19 deaths: 56
Rate of deaths per 100k: 71.8
In September, it emerged that up to 20 golfers on a holiday in the county tested positive for Covid-19. They were amongagroupof40people who had stayed at the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore.
ROSCOMMON
Confirmed cases: 2,095
Covid-19 deaths: 46
Rate of deaths per 100k: 71.3
The Co Roscommon village of Lecarrow was the location for a community rapid Covid19 testing pilot programme in November. It involved a clinical team carrying out weekly tests at a drivethrough facility, which was set up in the grounds of the village’s church. More than 1,000 rapid tests were carried out, with seven positive cases detected, all of which were asymptomatic .
SLIGO
Confirmed cases: 2,172 Covid-19 deaths: 17
Rate of deaths per 100k: 25.9
Sligo has had the lowest death rate per 100,000 of the population since the pandemic began. In July, an Iraqi family found themselves at the centre of a Covid19 ‘travel cluster’ in Sligo. Up to 14 extended family members tested positive after returning from four months in Iraq as international travel restrictions eased.
TIPPERARY
Confirmed cases: 4,874
Covid-19 deaths: 70
Rate of deaths per 100k: 43.9
In August, a mushroom plant in Co Tipperary was forced to close after it emerged 29 staff members had tested positive for Covid-19. Walsh Mushrooms in Golden, Co Tipperary, tested staff after one member tested positive, which led to the identification of a further 28.
WATERFORD
Confirmed cases: 5,139
Covid-19 deaths: 92
Rate of deaths per 100k: 79.2
In October, Waterford was lauded as being the “Best Covid County in Ireland”. Per head of population, it had maintained a record throughout much of the pandemic as the county with the lowest cumulative incidence of the virus. However since Christmas it was among the worst-affected parts of Munster and hospital staff were reported to be dealing with a ‘traumatic’ number of deaths.
WESTMEATH
Confirmed cases: 3,210
Covid-19 deaths: 59
Rate of deaths per 100k: 66.5
In early April, Westmeath had the highest rate of cases outside of Dublin. It was one of the first counties with a suspected case when the pandemic began and the surge that followed was linked to clusters in nursing homes, pubs and Cheltenham.
WEXFORD
Confirmed cases: 6,489 Confirmed death: 125
Rate of deaths per 100k: 83.5
Wexford has seen a big spike in Covid-related deaths in 2021 after 48 people lost their lives to the virus in January. “The south-east might have been more complacent after long periods of low numbers and people let their guard down at Christmas after working so hard,” said HSE public health specialist Dr Julie Heslin. Concern about the disregard for social distancing at funerals has been an issue in Wexford.
WICKLOW
Confirmed cases: 4,027
Covid-19 deaths: 114
Rate of deaths per 100k: 80
In March, a community group urged visitors to avoid popular mountain hotspots due to the pandemic. The Wicklow Uplands Council said the increase in people heading to places like Glendalough, the Hellfire Club, and the walking trails in the Sally Gap area “would have made it impossible to successfully implement the procedures they had put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus”.
Based on confirmed Covid19 cases and deaths notified between March 1, 2020 and February 23, 2021. Please note that the data provided is as extracted from the national Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting system (CIDR) as of Monday February 24, 2021.