‘Normal’ service resumes at Galway’s public hospitals

Galway’s public hospitals have re-started non-Covid elective care, as the third wave of the virus subsides.

HSE West has confirmed it has commenced a ‘gradual increase’ in urgent inpatient and day surgery, which was suspended due to a massive Covid-19 surge in January and February.

The return to some ‘normal’ care in local hospitals comes as a ‘super spreader’ event and large outbreak of disease in Galway city has been brought under control.

The outbreak among students, linked to house parties, meant the Local Electoral Area of Galway City Central had the highest rate of Covid-19 anywhere in the country for over two weeks.

But Dr Breda Smyth, HSE West Director of Public Health praised young people in Galway for helping to push down infection rates this week by adhering to lockdown restrictions.

“We’ve had a significant decline in cases and thanks to co-operation from all of the sectors we’ve had a success in containing the outbreak in Galway city.

“And that’s also due to the commitment of the young population in adhering to all the guidelines and getting it back under control. We are in a positive place with regards the trajectory, which is continuing in a downward slope and that is very positive,” Dr Smyth said.

She said the serious outbreak among students in Galway city led to 442 further cases in 224 households.

Some 179 of these cases are linked to 20 multiple household clusters, ranging from two to 42 cases; a further 145 cases are linked to single household outbreaks; and 118 cases “appear to have no epidemiological link to other students”.

On the first day of the outbreak, in February, there were two clusters involving four households and four cases. By the end of the first week, this had resulted in 16 clusters, 48 households and 85 confirmed cases. And at the end of the third week, there were 20 clusters, 86 households and 177 cases.

The incident highlighted, “the rapidity with which it can transmit”, Dr Smyth said.

For full coverage of the current Covid-19 landscape in Galway, get this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie