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Teacher rooms and school breaks are an area of concern for the possible spread of Covid-19, according to a midterm review of schools compiled by public health authorities.
Overall, the review found that schools remain safe with very limited evidence of virus transmission.
The report found that the proportion of close contacts of students or staff who tested positive remained low, despite high levels of community transmission across Ireland, particularly in Dublin, during October.
However, in a series of recommendations, he says that the support of educational partners will be key to minimizing close contacts in teacher rooms and during breaks.
The report says that friendship circles, lunchtime activities, recess activities and supervision have been “highlighted as areas where close contacts have often been identified.”
In addition, he says that staff rooms “not infrequently” have been highlighted as an area of concern for the possibility of transmission of infections, resulting in a significant number of staff members being identified as close contacts.
The unpublished midterm report was completed late last month for the HSE Health Protection Clinical Director’s Office.
It concludes that schools must remain open and that it is important that there is no laxity or deviation in health precautions.
It also notes that support from public health authorities to support the schools was “severely challenged” due to the second wave of cases before the midterm recess.
Later, additional support was added with the redeployment of inspection personnel from the Department of Education.
A total of 757 schools or preschools registered a positive case of Covid-19 until the end of October and required a public health risk assessment along with follow-up tests.
More than 18,000 follow-up tests identified 538 more cases in a total of 189 schools or preschools. Of these, 91 cases were older than 18 years, while 447 were younger than 18 years.
This equates to a positivity rate for close contacts of 2.9 percent, compared to about 10 percent for the community.
These positivity rates are lowest in secondary schools (2%), followed by primary schools (2.7%), special education (3.3%), and day care centers (5%).
The report shows that fewer than five schools were required to close in the period through the end of October, although others closed “voluntarily” due to staffing problems related to teacher self-isolation.
It says that public health authorities have not routinely required class exclusion, reflecting mitigation measures implemented by schools and evaluating schools as part of clinical public health risk assessments.
It adds that the definition of close contacts used in Ireland differs from the EU agency, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
It says its orientation “would likely result in frequent exclusions from larger-scale classes.”
It adds that the ECDC guidance is currently under review, while the UK’s approach is similar to that currently being taken in Ireland, although it says Ireland does “more close contact testing and has recommendations for face covering among other measures of mitigation”.
Overall, he says there have been nearly 70 cases of outbreaks in schools where the virus was “likely” to spread within the school.
Where this transmission could have occurred, the number of infected from now on has been, on average, three cases.
The report says the first semester required intense input from public health departments to support schools. In line with a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases nationwide, many cases were identified among those who regularly attend educational facilities, either as staff or as students.
While there was “heartbreak” over the opening of schools amid the increase in Covid-19 cases, it is said that many school principals were very cooperative in their approach and understanding of the public health approach.
It says public health risk assessments are being conducted in educational settings when Covid-19 cases have been identified during an infectious period, defined as 48 hours before the onset of symptoms or 24 hours before testing for asymptomatic cases.
It also says that HSE’s Covid-19 Tracker app notifications have caused confusion for teachers and principals.
The report says that the determination of close contacts should be based on a public health risk assessment and not on application notification.
This is because the assessment is a “carefully considered determination of probable disease transmission within the environment, taking into account the case and close contact factors, along with mitigation measures.”
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