A BABY is among the hundreds of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in Ireland in recent weeks amid a worrying spike in cases.
A baby aged less than a year old was tested for Covid-19 and yielded a positive result in the past two weeks, the Department of Health confirmed to local outlet The Limerick Leader.
The diagnosis comes after the south-west county experienced a surge in cases which had many worrying that the city and county were heading for a localised lockdown, such as the ones seen in Laois, Offaly in Kildare in August.
However, after a worrying spike, the situation in Limerick appears to have stabilised, with the 14-day incidence rate of Covid-19 in the county now at 52.3 per 100,000 people-- slightly lower than the national rate.
Caseshave risen substantially in Dublin, however, with the capital city and county expected to be moved to Level 3 restrictions from Monday, where pubs and restaurants will close their doors for three weeks unless they can serve their customers outdoors.
Counties Louth, Waterford and Donegal are also being closely monitored following a rise in cases.
But while the cases in Limerick are not as worrying as they were in recent weeks, there were ten cases identified in the county yesterday, and local TD Maurice Quinlivan warned that citizens are on a "knife edge".
"The figures are very, very worrying," the Sinn Féin TD told The Limerick Leader.
"The vast majority of people have done a really good job. They’ve done what they’re told, they’ve washed their hands, they’ve been doing social distancing. I know people are deeply frustrated at how long this has been going on.
“We are on the cusp of preventing a crisis or avoiding a crisis, and the only people who can do that are the people of Limerick themselves, and I would encourage people to do what they have been doing, which is to follow the HSE advice as best they can.
"And anybody who thinks they have any symptoms whatsoever should be following the advice; stay indoors, ring your doctor, and follow the medical advice you get from your GP.”
