A revamped test and trace system will be implemented in schools



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Public health officials will run a revamped Covid-19 testing and tracking system for schools and will be supplemented by department staff, Education Minister Norma Foley said.

As the Irish Times reports, he said: “Contact details will be made available to schools on Monday morning as teams are deployed.”

Public health officials “have committed to holding weekly meetings with the unions, two of those meetings have already been held. Specifically, they will address any of the issues, from a public health point of view, that are emerging in schools.

“More than 375 million euros have been made available to schools for all the various measures that must be implemented in terms of Covid-19. The balance of 226 million euros is about to be paid for the remainder of the school year. Therefore, there is no doubt that there are no funds available, ”he said.

Safety reasons

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 This Week on Sunday, he said that last week’s request for a hand sanitizer to be removed from schools for safety reasons was something he absolutely regretted doing during a midterm break. .

Last week, the Department of Education ordered the recall of more than 50 hand sanitizer products, following a review of the products after the Department of Agriculture ordered the recall of a hand sanitizer, ViraPro, due to safety concerns. .

The schools were ordered to stop using 22 hand sanitizers, 14 wet wipes, eight hand soaps, and eight detergents that were removed from the department’s approved product list because it had not been possible to “confirm their registration status as part of the revision”.

Ms Foley said the timing of product disposal was “far, far from ideal, but it was better to do it once the information was at hand, it was important to act proactively.”

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