Rise in 14-day rate of COVID-19 in three of four Westmeath areas

New figures released last night show that while the number of confirmed cases in Athlone has risen, the area continues to have the lowest rate of new COVID-19 cases in Westmeath.

Figures for the 14-day period from September 8 to September 21 show that there were seven confirmed cases in the Athlone local electoral area of Westmeath during that time period.

In the Moate electoral area during the same period, there were 12 new confirmed cases while there were nine in the Mullingar electoral area and 15 in the Kinnegad electoral area.

On a population basis, per 100,000 people, Athlone has the lowest rate of cases during that 14-day period at 30.8. The Mullingar electoral area is showing a rate of 34.7 per 100,000 people.

In the Moate electoral area, which spans Moate, Mount Temple, Tang, Drumraney and Ballymore, and stretches south east as far as Tyrrellspass, north as far as Rathowen and east to the outskirts of Mullingar, the rate per 100,000 is 65.11.

Kinnegad continues to have the highest per population incidence in Westmeath, at 69.2 per 100,000 population.

All four electoral areas in Westmeath show an incidence rate lower than the national average which is 70.7 per 100,000 population.

However, the figures show an increase in the three of the four electoral areas in Westmeath in the 14-day incidence rate from last week's figures which covered the 14 days from September 1 to September 13.

The rate for that earlier 14-day period in Athlone was 22 per 100,000 (now risen to 30.8); in Moate it was 59.6 (and it is now 65.1) and in Mullingar the rate was 30.8 (compared to the latest rate of 34.7).

Only Kinnegad electoral area has witnessed a reduction since the last figures. It had a 14-day rate of 83 per 100,000 last week, compared to 69.2 now.

The initiative to release weekly updates of COVID-19 cases in each electoral area in the country began last week.

The figures are compiled by Department of Health, the Ordnance Survey Ireland, the All-Island Research Observatory, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the Health Service Executive, and the Central Statistics Office.

They can be viewed here