Huge rise in COVID-19 cases in Westmeath reported

The number of COVID-19 cases in Westmeath has surged massively.
As of midnight on Tuesday, there were now 627 cases in Westmeath, up a huge 73 cases in one day.
There is no immediate explanation for this particular rise, from 554 at midnight on Monday to 627, 24 hours later.
Meanwhile in Roscommon, there are now 221 cases.
The news of a major rise in the number of Westmeath cases is disappointing given the message from the Department of Health tonight was very positive.
“We have achieved our goal of suppressing the spread of the disease,” the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health Tony Holohan stated this evening. 
“it was not easy for anyone but there is no question that our collective effort has saved lives,” he said, confirming that the reproduction number of the virus is currently between 0.5 -0.6. 
This means that for every one new cases, 
“Now we look to the pattern of COVID-19 going forward, as we attempt to ease restrictions. These weeks are just as important as the first weeks of our response. Our behaviours are crucial in maintaining our progress and keeping the reproduction number below 1.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, sent a similar message when he said: “The number of ICU admissions, new cases and deaths is now falling and has been for over a week. This is driven by a reduction of transmission of the virus in the community and reinforces the importance of our behaviours going forward.”
They were speaking as it emerged that 29 people with COVID-19 have died, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,403.
As of 11am Thursday 7 May the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been notified of 137 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 22,385 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.