Concerns about rising community transmission of Covid-19 in Dublin have been raised by health experts following recent data released by the Department of Health.
A case of Covid-19 is designated as “community transmission” when the person diagnosed is not a close contact of another confirmed case and it is unclear where they contracted the virus – indicating there has been transmission in the community.
One in three infections in the capital are linked to community transmission, which is higher than the rest of the country.
Dublin GP Dr Ray Walley says people are not sticking to the public health advice as much as they were: “There has been an increase in community transmission, and there are cases that we’re not definite where they come from.
“We are concerned that the only way you’re going to get this is by not adhering to the guidance, so it is reasserting the same thing, like we’re all tired of dealing with this.”
Of the 147 cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the Republic yesterday, half were in Dublin, prompting concern among public health officials.
Though acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn would not rule out a local lockdown, he said no new restrictions were currently planned.
Dr Walley says there are concerns that the numbers could get out of hand: “I’m afraid that’s what Ronan Glynn was indicating yesterday, that he wasn’t alarmed as such yet but he was concerned.
“We do expect that when we have an opening of society, when we have people to some degree returning to work, when we have people starting to get out and about, we are accepting that there will be a slight increase.
“But what we want to do is, we want to reduce the numbers – we need to ensure that we’re doing all the right things.”
Measures recommended to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 include practising physical distancing from others, wearing a face covering and practising good hand hygiene.
