The Shannon, Ennis and Ennistymon areas have seen a four fold increase of COVID-19 cases in the past seven days.
The Killaloe region, meanwhile, now has one of the highest incidence rates of the virus in Munster.
As was expected, the number of cases in all of Clare’s electoral areas has ballooned over the past week according to new localised data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
216 cases of COVID-19 were detected in Ennis in the two weeks up to this past Monday – that’s around 30% of Clare’s total.
The Shannon area saw 171 cases confirmed in the same 14 day period, again four times the number that it saw in the two weeks prior.
165 new cases have been identified in Killaloe and its surrounding region – its incidence rate as of Monday was 820.6, with only a select few areas in Cork and Limerick having a higher rate of the virus in all of Munster.
Kilrush and Ennistymon had previously had less cases than other areas in Clare – while that still continues to be the case, 181 cases were diagnosed in the two areas combined in the past fortnight – that’s up from a combined 44 cases previously.
The growth of the virus in Clare in the past fortnight has, in all, been greater than at any other time during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Health officials say they’re “gravely concerned” as the Covid-19 reproduction number could now be as high as 3.
It’s by far the highest estimate since the pandemic began – and means someone with the virus will pass it on to three others, on average.
A further 10 deaths linked to Covid-19 were confirmed last night and 6,521 new cases, with 254 cases in Clare, by far the highest number in this county since the beginning of the pandemic.
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET’s modelling advisory group, says all indicators are at record levels, but he believes there are signs the country may have reached the peak.
