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Evidence was emerging that reopening schools and child care facilities was among the safest things to do in the coming months, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.
But we have to do it safely, he added.
Speaking at a contact center in Dublin city center, Varadkar said it was encouraging that there was increasing evidence that those at least risk of contracting the virus are children and that they do not appear to be super-spreading.
“I think that is very significant,” Varadkar said.
In addition, Mr. Varadkar said that everyone wanted grandparents to be able to hug their grandchildren and that “assuming everything is going in the right direction, it will be one of the actions that will be possible in the course of the summer.”
Health Minister Simon Harris said “any report that helps us is welcome,” but added that we were still dealing with a virus that we are learning more about every day, and therefore “the evidence is inconclusive.” .
Harris said that while he understood that grandparents miss their grandchildren and children missed their friends, he cautioned that the public health council had not changed.
But the hope was that this could be reviewed in the coming days.
Schools with special educational needs will not reopen early
There are no plans to open schools for children with special educational needs before September, Education Minister Joe McHugh told the Dáil.
I was responding to Galway West Independent TD Catherine Connolly, who said that children attending special schools require routine and structure more than others and that there is no justification for neglecting their education for months.
Minister McHugh said any decision would be subject to public health councils and, for the time being, that advice is that all schools should reopen in September.
Rep. Connolly said she was not happy with this response. “I don’t see any voice in the higher-level committee regarding that group of people,” he said.
“What voice is there for those children to see their needs? Who is doing that? It seems that no one is doing that and they seem to be forgotten.”
Minister McHugh said his Department began working to see how more supports can be provided to people with special needs.
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