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The number of weekly Covid outbreaks recorded in schools doubled again last week, according to the latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC).
There were 46 outbreaks here in the week ending October 17, last Saturday, compared to 25 the week before.
The numbers for the week ending October 10 were, in themselves, a doubling of 12, 13, 11 and 12 in each of the previous four weeks.
It brings the total since the quarter started to 119, out of 4,000 elementary and post-primary schools.
Although the number is relatively low and schools are not considered centers of transmission of the disease, the figure reflects how the increasing level of infection in the community is seeping into educational settings.
The spread has added to pressure on principals, teachers and other school personnel, compounded by delays in contact tracing and testing as the system was overwhelmed.
Post-primary schools are much more likely to experience an outbreak than primary schools, according to information provided to the leader of Aontú and TD Peadar Tóibín
Data released by the HSE in response to a parliamentary question shows that, as of October 14, massive testing had been conducted in 102 post-primary schools, out of a total of about 730.
In comparison, the massive tests were conducted in 184 primary schools, out of a total of about 3,100 ordinary primary schools.
During the same period, 84 daycare centers and 14 special education settings were also tested.
To that date, mass testing detected an additional 125 cases in 47 schools: 20 people were over 18 years old and the remaining 105 were under 18 years old.
About 56 percent (214) of the settings were in the East as classified by the Department of Public Health, with 8 percent in the Midlands and Northeast, 7 percent in the West and Midwest, 6 percent in the Northwest and South and 3 percent in the southeast.
Tóibín criticized the delays in the tests that have been experienced and said that the regime needed an urgent improvement.
“My constituents tell me they were waiting up to five days or a week for their son to be tested after they were told to isolate themselves.
“Delays in tests have a domino effect on others, a child who waits a week for a test means that he will fall behind in his studies, it means that if they test positive, the virus has had a long time to spread to others who are not has said to isolate themselves, it also means that a parent or family member has to take time off from work to care for the child.
“If we want to keep schools open, then we need intense testing and screening, and we cannot afford delays.”
The tension in the schools was evident earlier this week when some made the decision to close because they could not get updated information from public health officials.
When an outbreak (two or more cases) occurs in a school, the HPSC says that transmission of Covid-19 within the school has not necessarily been established.
Health chiefs say children – or staff – are more likely to bring the infection from outside.
Confirmation of a Covid infection in an educational setting triggers a Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA) that determines what action, such as identifying and contacting close contacts and testing, is required.
Public health officials are also tasked with tracing contacts, but some directors have been doing it themselves in an attempt to speed things up.
Earlier this week, Education Minister Norma Foley said 10,513 students and staff had been sampled due to a confirmed case at a school.
This has resulted in the detection of 246 additional cases, a positive detection rate of 2 percent, compared to more than 7 percent in the general community.
Online editors
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