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The Minister of Education has said that the government’s “firm intention” is to reopen schools on January 11.
Norma Foley told RTÉ’s News at One program that giving schools an extra two or three days of vacation “gives families and society the opportunity to ensure that their contacts are kept to a minimum” before children return to school. school.
Yesterday the Taoiseach announced that schools would remain closed until Monday, January 11. Elementary and secondary schools were to reopen on Wednesday, January 6.
Ms. Foley said the National Public Health Emergency Team did not recommend delaying the reopening.
He said the measure was an “attempt to control the movement in the community at large” and that it is about encouraging society to assume the new restrictions and associated behaviors.
Yesterday, the government announced a move to full Level 5 restrictions over a four-week period to try to address the rise in coronavirus infections across the country.
Ms. Foley said the information and analysis about the schools is reassuring and that as of Christmas, three-quarters of all schools had no public health commitments.
In the past week, Ms Foley said 94 cases of Covid-19 were reported among 1.1 million employees and students.
He said that “almost 97% of the cases” evaluated in schools are negative.
“I think the numbers are very reassuring,” he said, adding that they show the “tremendous work” of school communities to maintain safe environments.
When asked if teachers should be given priority to receive the vaccine, Ms. Foley said that school community personnel were being prioritized.
Earlier today, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the government has no intention of extending school closings beyond the first week of January, but added that they are keeping “everything under review.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland program, Ms. McEntee said that delaying the return for a few days gives students and staff the opportunity to limit their contacts.
“Given the sharp increase in numbers, we have a lot of isolated people, it gives them time to go through that period and everyone the opportunity to limit contacts,” he said.
She wanted to emphasize that schools are considered safe environments and have been run very well during the pandemic.
McEntee said that in a short time the spread of Covid-19 has “overcome the worst case scenario.”
He said that the decisions that were made in recent weeks were based on a number of factors.
“I sat down in a meeting at the end of November where we looked at a lot of data, we talked to NPHET (the National Public Health Emergency Team) and we looked at everything from best case to worst case.
“Taking into account all factors, our economic situation, the well-being of our entire population, mental health, we make the decision we make [that] base, “he explained.
He said that at the time they analyzed everything from the best of Christmas to the worst.
However, she said she is not sure that anyone had predicted how the situation escalated in the past two weeks.
Facilities for early years should be treated the same as schools, says CEO
Meanwhile, Teresa Heeney, Executive Director of Early Childhood Ireland, has expressed disappointment that while school holidays are being extended due to the increase in Covid-19 rates, the early childhood facilities are due to reopen on January 4. .
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Philip Boucher Hayes, Ms Heeney said they should be treated in exactly the same way as schools and believes it is a “badly thought out” decision.
She said its members have no idea why they are staying open and said they are incredibly disappointed.
“They are confused, they don’t understand it and they are getting all kinds of calls from parents.”
She said its 3,800 members wonder what they are supposed to do.
“It’s a completely unacceptable new fork in the road.”
Ms Heeney said they have been tracking schools during the pandemic and were the first sector to reopen on June 29.
“We follow the same pattern as schools in that they are safe places. You know that they are safe places in the same way that the Taoiseach said that schools are safe places.
“And yet, the children who go to school have the opportunity to stay home to allow the new restrictions to apply so that everyone is safer. And yet the facilities are expected for the early years of age open on January 4. ”
He said that there are as many early childhood facilities in Ireland as there are primary and secondary schools.
“So we are talking about a lot of places and about 500 of them are based in schools. And the same children often attend both. They go to school and attend the early childhood facilities for the club. breakfast or after-school activities, “added Ms. Heeney.
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