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The father of a child who is among 19 students who tested positive for Covid-19 at a Kerry elementary school has spoken of his son’s fear of infecting his elderly grandmother.
Len Evans, whose son Colm is in sixth class at Scoil Mhuire in Killorglin, a coeducational elementary school with 386 pupils, said the 12-year-old tested positive on Monday after one of his classmates contracted the virus. Her first thoughts were on the risk it would pose to her 87-year-old grandmother, who lives with the Evans family.
“In terms of the symptoms he was showing, I’d say he didn’t have any,” Evans told Independent.ie.
“Our 87-year-old mother lives with us and the first symptom she had was fear. Fear that something would happen to him and it would be his fault. I was crying. Of all, when he started crying for his grandmother, I thought: ‘God, I can do everything for my son, but I can’t take this away from him.’ The reality of this virus is that the things that go along with it, well, are almost as bad. “
Killorglin Elementary School is shutting down public health counseling amid concerns about the number of positive Covid-19 cases among students.
Evans said she received an email Friday night notifying her that there had been a positive case in her son’s class.
“He said that everyone in his class would be contacted by HSE and evaluated,” he said.
“I arranged a private test on Saturday and got a positive result on Monday night. HSE’s phone calls began Sunday regarding contact tracing and the rest of the family got tested on Monday. We have been very lucky in this house because none of the others have tested positive. The ambulance service came out and examined my mother and on Tuesday and we got a negative result on Wednesday. “
Mr. Evan said that his son is fine, but was initially very concerned about the diagnosis.
“When his friends started being positive, he felt pressured,” he said.
“I don’t want that to look the wrong way, but I’m just trying to explain it. wants the only one who has it.
“Colm is my youngest son. We have another son in high school and he didn’t come back. We’ve been dealing with it since last Friday night and it’s been a roller coaster ride. There will be a phone call, or someone upstairs will say you have a fever or headache and you’re on the walls. A week ago we were saying, isn’t that great? We didn’t give cases here and then bang. It’s hard, but I’m looking back at my city right now and it could be a lot worse to happen there. you find yourself in a scary situation like this, it’s amazing how Christmas falls on the priority list. “
Mr. Evans said he “couldn’t fault” how the school handled the outbreak.
“Everyone is doing the best they can,” he said.
“This is a small, tight-knit community. They say there are 19 affected children, so there are 19 different addresses. It will take a little while to get there, but we will. “
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