A study of contacts from the HSE’s Covid Care Tracker system shows that the average number of contacts per positive case per week has increased from less than three contacts in May to more than six in the week ending August 14th.
The analysis also showed a change among age groups. While there was very little difference in the number of contacts across age categories in May, by August those in the 15-24 age group had an average of more than 11 contacts, compared to an average of 2 contacts for those aged over 80.
The average age of those diagnosed with the disease has also dropped. In the week ending August 21st, the median age of new confirmed Covid-19 cases was 30 years old – the lowest since the pandemic began in Ireland.
Jt38j
Women and those aged between 25-44 continue to account for the highest number of confirmed cases, while health care workers still make up almost a third of all cases.
Covid-19 cases in Dublin and Kildare continue to make up a majority (59 per cent) of those diagnosed in the State – 361 cases were confirmed in the counties during the week up to August 21st.
The number of weekly confirmed Covid-19 cases is more than 600 in each of the last three weeks up to August 21st.
The analysis comes as the HSE’s chief clinical officer said it was not the right time for all pubs to reopen.
Dr Colm Henry, who is also a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), said international experience was that congregated settings and alcohol were not good conditions for transmission of the virus.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland on Friday, he pointed out that the 14-day incidence rate has risen from three per 100,000 in June to 33 per 100,000 at present.
“We had a single number of new cases per day back in June, now we're seeing new cases in the order of 100 to 120 per day,” he said.
