Galway all set to re-open for business
Galway has earned the right to re-open – local lockdown sacrifices have suppressed the virus in the community, the latest figures confirm.
The collective effort of city and county residents over six weeks drove down the infection rate to one of the lowest in the country.
Gyms, all retail, hairdressers, personal services and possibly religious services and some entertainment are on course to re-open next week.
Government will announce plans for hospitality, with publicans, and in particular those who don’t serve food, hopeful they won’t be left behind. Plans to ease Christmas visiting restrictions will also be unveiled Friday.
Galway had one of Ireland’s highest Covid-19 figures when the country entered Level 5 lockdown in October but the latest stats reveal a massive turnaround.
Galway recorded 168 new confirmed cases in the fortnight to Monday, which equates to a 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 of 65.1, compared with the national average of 107.8. The incidence rate peaked at 313.9 per 100,000 in October when the number of weekly cases in Galway hit a staggering 500 – ten times this week’s total of 50 cases in the seven days up to Monday.
In the week to Saturday, 28 Covid outbreaks were recorded in the West, down from 36 the previous week. Eighteen of the new clusters were in private homes and nine were in extended family and community.
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