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Possible Outbreak Of Delta Variant Identified In Athlone

Tuesday, 22 June 2021 06:53

Anyone who was socialising in the town on June 11th is urged to get tested.

A possible outbreak of the Delta variant has been identified in Athlone.

But the Department of Health in the midlands say it's not yet confirmed as the strain first discovered in India. 

The HSE said the cases were linked to socialising by the river on the west on Friday June 11th, while there have been reports of house parties in the area that night.

The World Health Organisation says there's a 'real chance' the Delta variant will become the dominant strain of Covid-19 in Ireland. 

It comes as the Chief Medical Officer says there's been a 'concerning increase' in cases of the strain here. 

Dr. Tony Holohan says about a fifth of infections in the past week involved this variant, first discovered in India. 

A total of 284 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed here yesterday. 

Dr. David Nabarro, from the WHO, says the Delta variant is very concerning. 

Anyone who was socialising in the town on Friday 11th June is advised to attend a HSE covid testing centre.

A pop-up, walk-in testing centre is being opened in St. Aloysius' School, Athlone on Thursday 24th June until Saturday 26th June, from 10am to 4pm each day.

It'll be open for children and adults.

Centres are already in operation at St. Loman's Hospital Campus in Mullingar, St. Fintan's Hospital in Portlaoise, and at Clonminch in Tullamore.

Director of Public Health for the Midlands, Dr. Una Fallon will be discussing the issue on Midlands Today after 11am.

 

Full statement from the HSE on the outbreak:

The Department of Public Health in the Midlands is investigating cases of COVID in the Athlone area that may be the Delta variant but are not yet confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).

The importance of this is that the Delta variant is very transmissible and those who are not fully vaccinated may be at risk of infection. Those who are particularly vulnerable need to continue to protect themselves against Covid-19 until they have been fully vaccinated.

These cases are associated with socialising down by the river, on the west side, on Friday June 11th. It is not clear how transmission occurred. It may be that social distancing advice was not adhered to and there have been reports of house parties that night.

If you were socialising in Athlone on the evening of Friday 11th of June, and you think you might have been exposed to Covid-19 please attend one of the HSE Covid-19 test centres.  You can book a test on https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/testing/covid-19-walk-in-test-centres.html.

Alternatively, there will be a pop-up, walk-in testing centre in St. Aloysius School, Athlone, on Thursday 24th, Friday 25th and Saturday 26th of June from 10am to 4pm daily. This will be open to children and adults. Please bring identification with you.

If you have symptoms, please contact your GP, do not go to work, restrict your movements, and arrange a Covid-19 test.  Covid-19 symptoms can be as mild as a runny nose so please be very vigilant.

We need to minimise the spread of Delta variant in Ireland until the majority of people, and especially those who are most at risk, are fully vaccinated.

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