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The most recent data on Covid-19 in schools shows a small increase in positivity rates among the close contacts tested.
Speaking today at the Dáil, Education Minister Norma Foley said public health councils showed that outbreaks were still very low in schools.
He said the school setting was not the source of the highest rates of detection and transmissibility among young people.
A report by the Executive of the Health Service shows that 4,062 tests were carried out in 183 schools, more than double the number of the previous week.
The number of cases detected was 110, which represents a positivity rate of 2.7%.
The figure is higher than the previous week, when 1,842 tests were carried out in 108 schools and 44 cases were detected. The positivity rate was 2.4%.
These latest tests were conducted in 120 elementary schools, 52 post-primary schools, and 11 special education schools last week.
The latest data also shows that 119 cases were detected in daycare centers. That’s a positivity rate of 9.6%, down from 11.3% last week, but significantly higher than schools or the wider community.
1,236 tests were carried out in 71 nurseries.
That’s double the tests that were done the week before with 62 cases detected.
The report shows 1,140 confirmed cases in children ages 0 to 18 last week.
The breakdown is as follows: 343 confirmed cases in the 0-4 age group, representing 0.1% of that age group; 487 confirmed cases in the age group 5 to 12 years; 310 confirmed cases in the age group 13 to 18 years.
The figures represent 0.1% of people between the ages of 5 and 18.
Addressing a Committee of Oireachtas, Minister Foley referred to reports from the Chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, showing that increased rates among young people are neither detected nor transmitted within the school setting.
Ms. Foley said it shows the very strong mitigation measures in place in schools and, in particular, the work that staff and students are doing on the ground to meet these measures.
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Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway Walsh questioned how there can be absolute certainty that young people are not being infected within the school setting.
Ms. Conway Walsh said it seemed too much of a coincidence that the increasing numbers coincided with school returns.
The minister said adjudication and judgment on these statistics should be left to public health experts.
She said the figures were not produced by her, but by experts on the ground.
Minister Foley said that public health teams take a very rigorous approach when they go to schools and have expanded the level of testing for Covid-19.
He added that from the beginning the decision had been made to allow public health experts to take the lead regarding the measures required within schools to deal with Covid-19.
The minister went on to quote public health experts, saying that a Covid-19 outbreak refers to two or more cases, but the transmissibility and detection within schools was very low.
He repeated that the levels were higher in the community at large.
The minister said that an enormous amount of work has been done to ensure that schools reopen in a cautious and gradual manner, and said there is a huge debt of gratitude to the whole of society for supporting and facilitating the implemented measures.
Minister Foley said that we all have a responsibility to continue with social distancing and the use of masks. He urged people not to meet at the school gates or organize play dates.
“If we all stand firm and do what needs to be done, then I am sure there will be a full resumption of all schools after the Easter break.”
Parents concerned about the virus among children
Earlier, a Cork GP said parents had contacted his office with concerns about their children and Covid-19.
Dr. Nuala O’Connor said her practice has not had any positive cases so far, but there has been an increase in other infections as a result of the mixing of children.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne, she said that since schools are a controlled environment, there is about a 3% chance that the virus will spread within schools, but it is socialization before and after schools that is causing the increase in cases among children.
Dr O’Connor said public health teams have found no increase in transmission in schools compared to pre-Christmas levels, and international evidence is that the virus tends to spread more rapidly than a adult to other than among children.
Mid-May before fully vaccinated over 70s – NPHET
Meanwhile, the National Public Health Emergency Team said it has “noticed” that people aged 70 and over will not have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine until “after mid-April” and will not have received their second dose until “after mid-May”.
The issue is raised in the most recently published letter from Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Medical Director to the Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly.
Dr. Glynn said that he highlighted the particular vulnerability of this group over the next several months.
The Vaccination Working Group added that the mid-April and mid-May end dates for vaccinating people age 70 and older remain unchanged.
On February 11, Minister Donnelly said it would be mid-May before those over 70 were fully vaccinated.
In NPHET’s March 11 letter, Dr. Glynn said there is also a concern about the positivity rate for serial testing in nursing homes, which is 0.5%, as it is similar to what is known. observed in late summer of last year.
The letter also warns the Government of the ongoing “deep” reduction in capacity to provide a variety of scheduled and routine care for patients and the importance of increasing ICU capacity from 321 beds to 446 beds.
The latest vaccination figures from the HSE show that as of last Saturday, 190,635 people aged 70 and over had received a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
There are an estimated 500,000 people in this Category 3 group.
Additionally, 5,370 very high-risk people, who are in the Category 4 group, had received a vaccine.
In total, 675,946 doses had been administered as of Saturday.
Of these, 492,106 were first doses and 183,840 were second doses.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Donnelly said an enhanced local public health response scheme will be launched this week and there will also be increased engagement with employers and third-tier facilities.
He also said that he has not had any conversation to suggest that not all schools will reopen after the Easter break as planned, but added that new variants of the disease will seize any opportunity.
Donnelly said there has been a significant increase in outbreaks as a result of transmission in the home and workplace.
Later, speaking on the way to a cabinet meeting, Donnelly said that the vaccine program is stepping up and that they are moving through certain cohorts that are being vaccinated.
He said vaccine dates are subject to delivery by pharmaceutical companies and the vaccine working group is looking for target vaccination dates all the time.
As of last Friday, a total of 668,529 doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been administered, of which 181,063 were second doses.
Additional Information Fergal Bowers, Teresa Mannion, PA
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