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The Education Minister will meet with opposition parties on Monday to brief them on the reopening of schools amid a third surge in coronavirus infections.
Norma Foley is urged to clarify when the schools will reopen after the Christmas break, with the date currently set for January 11.
However, public health experts and politicians have said that it now seems unlikely that schools will welcome students for in-person learning next week.
Professor Luke O’Neill, an immunologist at Trinity College Dublin, said he does not believe schools will reopen amid rising infection rates.
“We’re looking at these numbers … if we get to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and the numbers are even higher, I can’t see the schools open because it’s another risk,” he said.
“I mean it may not be a huge risk if the schools reopen, but if these numbers are out of control, what we hear is very serious …
“I think yesterday many of the ministers who were asked are assuming that the schools will not reopen, so it seems they are going in that direction.”
Clarity
Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh O’Laoghaire has echoed Professor O’Neill’s view that a reopening is unlikely as thousands of new Covid-19 cases are reported every day.
“It seems to me, as much as I regret it, that it is highly unlikely that schools will open on the 11th in the normal way,” he said.
“So, at this point, what the minister has to do is give people time to prepare, particularly the schools, but also parents and families for that day.
“We need to know what is going to happen there, be it remote learning, phased learning, what provision will there be for special education.”
O’Laoghaire called for Monday’s meeting with the Department of Education to provide long-term clarity and to follow the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).
As much as I’m sorry, I don’t believe the Department of Education when they say schools will open normally on the 11th.
I think most school staff and parents feel the same way.
It is difficult to see how this can happen safely. If the minister has advice to the contrary, she should describe it.
– Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (@Donnchadhol) January 3, 2021
“I think Nphet should be there, we need to listen to public health advice, we must comply with it and we need to know what Nphet thinks of the image, not only for the next few days and for the 11th, but for the following weeks … so that we can make decisions for a couple of weeks. “
It comes as the Minister for Children, Roderick O’Gorman, has said that it will be necessary to see if the Level 5 restrictions are working before making a decision to impose further restrictions.
Ireland
Covid-19: Schools May Stay Closed While Canceled …
Nphet’s advice today was that schools were safe to open, but the situation was still under constant review, he said.
Level 5 restrictions were introduced on December 24 and December 30 and it would take 10-14 days for their impact to be seen.
A prolonged closure of schools would not be good for children, he said, but decisions would be made based on public health councils.
Meanwhile, teachers have also raised concerns ahead of the planned reopening of schools across the country on January 11.
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