THERE has been a sharp uptick in coronavirus cases among the Traveller community, according to the latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
The data, as reported by the Irish Times, shows 29 outbreaks throughout the community in the week ending January 30 - a noticeable increase from 11 the week before.
This took the total number of cases for the week to 74, up from 62 the previous week.
There were also 31 hospitalisations - a notable climb up from 18 a week earlier - and five patients were admitted to ICU.
Overall cases among Travellers during the third wave have reached a total of 787.
Medical authorities define an outbreak as two or more cases of the disease. When discovered, the area is flagged for 28 days from the last positive test result.
More optimistic figures were found among the general population, though, where 169 cases were confirmed during the last week of January, marking a drastic fall from the 69 cases recorded the previous week.
New acute hospital outbreaks also dropped to 13 from 20 the week before.
There were 23 outbreaks in nursing homes, one in a community hospital, and 31 in residential institutions.
Of the new cases linked to educational institutions, including childcare facilities, schools, and universities, there was an encouraging drop to seventeen from 28 cases the previous week.
Cases fell to 29 in workplaces in general, down from 36 in the third week of January.
Eighteen outbreaks occurred in disability centres, while only two were recorded in mental health facilities, and one in addiction treatment venues.
Though the data showed a general decline in cases, there were seven outbreaks in Direct Provision centres, which is up from two the week prior.
So far, 19 cases have been linked to these outbreaks.
