The incidence of Covid-19 in Ireland is more than double the EU average

The incidence of Covid-19 in Ireland is more than double the European rate, according to data from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC).

The Irish Health Surveillance Protection Center (HPSC) reports that the infection rate per 100,000 residents here is now 367.8.

This compares to an average of only 150.6 across the European Union and the European Economic Area.

Overall, Ireland now has the seventh highest incidence of the disease across the region.

Lithuania has the highest infection rate per 100,000 inhabitants with nearly 800, followed by Estonia at 658, Romania at 631, Latvia at 580, Slovenia at 571, Croatia at 410 and Ireland at 367.

Poland has the lowest incidence in the EU at just 34, Spain’s has a rate of 63.1, Italy has a rate of 77, while Portugal is slightly higher at 87.

Denmark – a country with a population slightly larger than Ireland which has been compared to Ireland in terms of vaccine deployment – has an infection rate of 94.

Meanwhile, the rates for France, Germany and the Netherlands are closer to the EU average at 106, 131 and 133, respectively.

In terms of deaths from the virus, Ireland’s rate is lower than the average rate in the region.

The average death rate in Europe for Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants is 18 – the rate here is 14.

The country with the highest death rate from the virus is Bulgaria at 145, followed by Romania at 107 and Lithuania at less than 100.

Liechtenstein and Iceland currently have a score of zero in this category.

This comes because Malta has the highest Covid-19 vaccination rate in Europe as of October 10, giving 163.17 doses per 100 people in the country according to data platform Statista.com.

Iceland had given 162.65 doses per 100.

The UK was the first country in Europe to approve the widespread use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the vaccinations began on December 8, 2020, and so far, it has given 138.3 doses per 100.

According to the latest data, Portugal gave 157.77 doses per 100 population.