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The Department of Education has said that the reopening of schools has not caused a significant change in the proportion of school-age children who contract Covid-19.
It says the data shows that the proportion of cases found among the four to 18-year-old age group has been stable since August, between 14.3% and 14.1% of all Covid cases.
The Department says this supports the hypothesis that children are not at increased risk for Covid-19 in the school setting.
According to the new figures, 5,890 school students and teachers have participated in massive tests being carried out in 236 schools across the country.
The department says that testing of the 236 schools has led to the detection of 90 additional cases of the virus. This equates to a rate of 1.5%. The comparable rate when similar mass testing has been done in the community is 6%.
The data measures the situation until last Tuesday.
In a statement, the department said public health officials were “launching their web” with massive testing in schools to assess the evidence for levels of transmission, and that this low rate supported other evidence that schools are “environments. insurance “.
The Department of Education said “no decision has been made” to extend school closings during the midterm recess.
He responded to a newspaper claim that the Cabinet had debated and was awaiting a decision to extend half the term by one week.
Speaking ahead of a cabinet subcommittee meeting on Covid-19 with NPHET tonight, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said no such proposal had yet been presented to him.
Previously, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said that keeping schools open safely for children and staff was a key priority, and NPHET had given it careful attention, recommending that schools remain open at this time, including given the current trajectory of the disease. .
“The Irish experience to date supports the current international position that schools are low-risk environments for Covid-19 and are not key drivers of transmission,” the spokesperson said.
The Department previously said that many school-linked Covid-19 cases in Ireland have been found to be exposed to the disease outside of the school setting, for example at home or in a social setting.
Similarly, when close contact tests (of confirmed school-linked cases) identify additional cases of Covid-19, many of these are found to have been exposed to the disease outside of school.
He said there have been relatively few cases in which HSE Public Health strongly suspects Covid-19 transmission within a school.
Schools are scheduled to close mid-term at the end of the month.
The school management and union bodies say there have been no discussions or proposals on such closures. But one source described the suggestion as logical.
However, the Children’s Rights Alliance has expressed dismay, saying that the impact of the closure on vulnerable children should make any such measure a last resort.
The alliance’s Tanya Ward said public health officials had assured the organization that the reopening of schools was not associated with increases in infection rates.
“We are concerned that when the schools closed we saw 30% dropout rates for students,” Ms. Ward told RTÉ News.
“In this state, when the evidence tells us that the schools are not where the problem is, and when we know what the impact of the closure is on vulnerable children, it has to be a measure of last resort.”
“The strategy to date has been to keep schools open at all costs, and the suggestion that they close is not in line with NPHET’s position led by the evidence,” he said.
Ms. Ward said schools should be supported to continue to deal with local outbreaks through full or partial closures as needed.
School closures would be ‘illogical’ – ASTI
ASTI’s Secretary General said it is “unacceptable” that teachers, governing bodies, students and parents are reading reports on a proposal to extend the midterm recess for another week as part of the effort to curb the Covid-19.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Kieran Christie said it would be “illogical” to close schools for another week on Halloween, “unless there is a plan to take similar action in society at large.”
He said ASTI is committed to keeping schools open and members will continue to be guided by public health councils.
Speaking about the same program, Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart said that extending school closings would create “so much confusion in society that it would have to be based on evidence.”
He said, “We have to stick to the plan, and any decision that is made must be based on evidence.”
Mr. Lahart asked people not to leak information due to the anxiety it can cause at this time.
He added that the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party this week discussed the possibility of closing schools shortly before Christmas to allow grandchildren to self-quarantine before visiting elderly or vulnerable relatives.
This morning, the primary teachers union, INTO, said it was “imperative that when important decisions are made, stakeholders in education are consulted and duly notified of the results so that we can manage any possible disruptions in our schools. primary “.
He reiterated calls for an urgent review of public health councils in schools to determine the necessary level of protocols, protections and necessary precautions when the level of infection is very high in a community.
The union said there were alternatives to shutting down and supporting remote learning, such as partial opening where half of each class attend school in shifts.
Teachers’ Union of Ireland general secretary Michael Gillespie said TUI took note of the speculation regarding possible changes to the school calendar.
“Clearly, all stakeholders in education must be fully consulted to any extent to allow for any disruptions to regular school activities to be planned for,” Gillespie added.
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