Bank Holiday sees spike in Galway’s Covid cases

Galway recorded a spike in Covid-19 infections on St Patrick’s Day, with over 600 people testing positive for the virus on our national holiday.

They are among the 4,592 new cases of Covid-19 that were confirmed in Galway in the fortnight to Sunday, March 20.

On that day, Sunday, when a commemoration was held in Eyre Square in the city to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Reflection for those who lost their lives during the pandemic, and for front-line workers, a further 364 new cases of Covid-19 were notified in Galway.

St Patrick’s Day recorded the second highest peak of cases in the past fortnight; the biggest one-day increase in Covid cases was recorded the Thursday before that, March 10, when more than 800 people were confirmed as having contracted the virus in Galway.

The increase in Covid cases confirms it is spreading fast throughout the community and has resulted in more hospitalisations although there has not yet been a spike in patients requiring beds in ICU.

Some 74 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised on St Patrick’s Day in Galway, including 51 in UHG and 23 in Portiuncula.

But both hospitals have experienced increases in admissions since. On Monday there were 57 Covid-positive patients in UHG, including six admitted in the previous 24 hours, and Ballinasloe was treating 31 Covid patients. There were three Covid patients being treated in ICU in UHG and three in Ballinasloe on Monday.

Read the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie