Covid returns to winter levels in North Tipp
Local Covid-19 case numbers have returned to the triple figures of winter and the rate of infection in Nenagh is now higher than the spike seen last April.
There was great disappointment locally when the organisers of Nenagh Castlefest announced at the weekend that much looked-forward-to festival would have to be postponed yet again. But, against a backdrop of rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalistations nationally, the expected Government guidelines for increasing festival capacity were not forthcoming, and Castlefest will not be going ahead on the first weekend of September as planned.
In Tipperary, the fortnightly number of confirmed new cases of Covid-19 is above a hundred in some areas, as was the case back in January and February. Nenagh had the second highest number of new cases in the county with 103 recorded in the period August 3 to 16. There were only 22 new cases in Nenagh in the corresponding timeframe a month ago.
The rate of infection in the Nenagh Local Electoral Area (LEA) in that period was 481.9 per 100,000 population, just below the national rate (493.2) and well above the 163.8 recorded following the much-publicised outbreak in the town last April.
The Cashel-Tipperary LEA had the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the county with 160 in the most recent period for which figures are available, a rate above the national average.
In Newport LEA, the number of confirmed cases of the virus increased to 63. The Roscrea-Templemore LEA saw a slight rise to 30 new cases, while Thurles had 69 in the fortnight.
TESTING APPEAL
Public Health Mid West expressed particular concern regarding the increases in the towns of Nenagh and Thurles, and appealed to people to isolate and get tested immediately if they display any symptoms of the virus. It said most of the new infections are related to household outbreaks and sporadic cases in the community.
Specialist in Public Health Medicine Dr Marie Casey said 43 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in North Tipperary on Tuesday of last week alone. Describing this as a "significant jump", she the case numbers are primarily linked to younger age groups but also involve older ages.
Dr Casey urged people to take caution and avail of vaccination if eligible.
CASTLEFEST POSTPONED
Despite the high incidence of Covid-19 and a sharp rise in hospitalisations around the country, the Government is reportedly to proceed with plans to remove remaining restrictions in the weeks ahead. A cabinet meeting is to take place this Friday over timelines for the reopening of the likes of the arts and live entertainment sector.
Unfortunately, this has not come soon enough for Nenagh Castlefest, which was to take place on September 4-5. Having been put back on two previous occasions, the popular music and arts festival in the grounds of Nenagh Castle has been postponed indefinitely.
Expressing "huge disappointment" at this setback, organising committee spokesman Cllr McGrath stated: "The Government unexpectedly did not relax the Covid-19 restrictions to allow for increased capacity for festival events and therefore the committee are not in a position to run the Castlefest on on the planned dates in September. The entertainment return roadmap is not expected to be published until the end of August, which will be too late for our festival timelines given the safety, artist confirmations, planning, security, and compliance adjustments that may be needed.
"Unfortunately, this is out of our control and we would very much like to express our disappointment at having to change the dates. We will endeavour to replan our event later this year once additional clarity on festival capacity and compliance has been confirmed."