Over 23,000 people were confirmed to have had Covid-19 last week. However, the true number is said to be a lot higher than that.
Home antigen tests are the most common form of testing at the moment as PCR tests are limited to at-risk groups. 13,059 registered a postive antigen test on the HSE portal last week while 10,435 people had a postive PCR test.
Scientists believe the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are a lot more infectious as they have a growth advantage of around 35pc higher than previous forms of Omicron.
According to the Independent, one of the areas with the highest incidence of Covid-19 over 14 days and therefore a hotspot was Newport in Tipperary.
The information was recorded by the country’s disease watchdog in its latest report. The report refers to the end of May, when the new Covid-19 variants were on the rise.
Other electoral areas in the South East in the top 10 at that stage were Waterford city and Carlow.
The number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital reached 697 on Friday with 21 of those in ICU.
