Delta surge began in Limerick and spread like wildf ire across country
THE Delta variant of Covid-19 began in its surge in Limerick, and since then has ‘spread like wildfire across the country,
So far, only Dublin has escaped the full force of the emerging surge of infections.
But a source close to the Government’s Covid strategy said protecting the capital from a major outbreak of the Delta variant would have partly influenced the Taoiseach’s decision to stall pubs, restaurants and cafes from serving indoors.
The source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘The Delta variant has been moving across for about a month from the Limerick region. It has moved from Limerick, North Cork, Clare, Tipperary and into Waterford. The numbers in Dungarvan [Waterford] are huge now and that’s why a test centre was set up in the popular tourist base. It has spread like wildfire down there in primary schools and in families.
‘It doesn’t seem to have really hit Dublin yet; the numbers in Dublin are small and that’s why the overall numbers are not going up very fast.’
The first Delta cases were discovered in Limerick, when families reunited with relatives visiting from the UK to celebrate the Feast of Eid, a source familiar with the Government’s Covid strategy told the MoS. The festivities took place in May to mark the end of the 30-day fast period of Ramadan celebrated by Muslims.
Since then, Delta infections have spread across the Midwest. One outbreak at a Dungarvan pub has led to 180 infections.
The source said: ‘Last July, nobody was getting tested and the figures for Covid infections were very, very, low. But we were only fooling ourselves that it had gone. It’s a myth that it went away last summer.
‘Covid never went away. It was just incubating over the summer and, because people thought it had gone away, they didn’t get tested. What’s happening now is that instead of going for a test one to two days after noticing symptoms, people are saying, “Oh, I think I have a cold or I think I have hay fever”, even though they never had hay fever before.
‘Then they are getting an antigen test and when that comes back positive they are going for a PCR test.
‘But that means 10 to 12 days have passed from the time they first noticed symptoms and by then it’s too late as they have been wandering around.
‘The Delta variant is spreading among the group that are not vaccinated. The 20- to 30-yearolds are the group that are more likely to spread it as they are the most sociable age group and the Government know they have to get that age group vaccinated fast.
The only show in town is vaccination.’