Health official worried Galway reaching Covid crisis point

Coronavirus has ripped through Galway, with an ‘explosion’ of positive cases among the 18-24 age group, as the threat of infection moves ‘closer to home’.

A total of 400 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Galway in a fortnight; 264 of them came in the seven days to Sunday October 11, the worst week on record, when a new daily high for confirmed cases was set.

Among the new cases were staff and children of a city crèche, and an outbreak associated with GAA county final celebrations in Moycullen.

Dr Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health in the West, said there has been a “dramatic increase” in infected young people, which “is a cause for concern”.

She said that the virus was “coming closer to home” for everyone because compared with the Spring, now “we all know of cases within our social networks, or within our communities”.

Wave one in March and April primarily impacted an older demographic and healthcare workers. This second wave is different, with a surge in infection among young people in particular. This has been developing since mid-September, but is not confined to third level students.

“What we’re seeing now, is people who are vulnerable realise that and are protecting themselves more than they did earlier. We are seeing this explosion in infection in the younger population and I think it’s really important that they are mindful of the effect of that.

“We have a young population from 18-24, maybe just thinking that ‘I’m not going to get that sick’. But if they have a part-time job they must remember they could be positive and not know it and bring it into that setting, a restaurant, a bar, a childcare facility, a nursing home. They may be positive because of their activities over the weekend and not know it, because 40% of cases are asymptomatic and they could be spreading it,” she said.
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