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The HSE has again reiterated that there has been a low level of Covid-19 transmission in schools with fewer than five being asked to close due to the outbreaks since their reopening.
Speaking at an HSE briefing earlier today, public health consultant Dr. Abigail Collins said that 599 facilities (elementary, post-elementary and special needs schools) have required a public health assessment and testing.
More than 15,000 students and teachers have been tested with 384 identified cases and an overall positivity rate of 2.5%. Most of the close contacts that are evaluated (86%) are students, while 14% are personal.
Dr. Collins said public health departments have identified about 70 schools in which they suspect intra-school transmission. In most cases, he said a link is identified in the community.
“When we find and identify cases and look at their close contacts, we can find that the people in their families are asymptomatic or have other sources of infection,” he said.
The average number of subsequent cases in which there is transmission at school is three, but he said it is “very unusual” to have a number greater than that. Dr Collins said this is in contrast to experience in other settings, such as nursing homes, where transmission can reach very high levels.
He said it is a “difficult judgment” to make if a person contracted the infection in a school, as students and teachers are still “part of their communities.”
“If you know there is a group of friends, for example, who were socializing outside of school, how do you say it was because they were sitting at the desk together and how do you say it wasn’t because they were watching a movie together?
“It is important to keep it in mind in that context, it is not black and white, it is not ticking boxes.”
Fewer than five schools have been told to close due to Covid-19 cases among students and staff, he said.
The number of school-age children testing positive for Covid-19 is “relatively stable,” increasing slightly from 14.5% of cases in August before schools reopened to 15.6% of cases. in October.
Dr. Collins said the data collected by public health teams is “reassuring” and has shown that “schools are safe places for our children.”
However, he said that as the positivity of cases in the community has increased, the number of cases in the school setting has increased.
“We have to make sure that we don’t deny children the opportunity for their education, emotional and social development and well-being because it is so important,” said Dr. Collins.
“It is a real interdependence at the population level and if we can all do our bit in society, that will keep our schools safe and open.”
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Threat to strike
Today Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the school will reopen on Monday as planned. His comments came after the Irish Secondary Teachers Association (ASTI) voted to take industrial action unless the government addresses various Covid-19-related issues in schools.
Issues raised by teachers include redefining close contacts in schools and introducing a serial testing program.
Teachers voted to take industrial action, including a strike.
Martín said today that “he does not detect that many teachers want to go that way.”
“Many friends of mine are teachers, I keep in regular contact with them to get an idea of what it is like, how they are coping. They want to be in school, they really understand how important it is for the development of children, ”he said.
The Taoiseach acknowledged that the current environment for teachers is “challenging” and that Covid-19 has meant “a different kind of learning” for teachers.
“It is a different type of education, the classroom is a very different place for the children and for the teachers. And that’s why it’s not easy and I don’t underestimate the impact, ”he said.
The Taoiseach also said that after this week’s midterm break “school teams” will be set up to see if there are specific areas that could be improved.
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