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The government wants to avoid a “large-scale closure” of schools and nurseries because it would not be beneficial for children, especially those with special needs or in disadvantaged areas, the Minister for Children said.
Roderic O’Gorman said the situation was under constant review and that Education Minister Norma Foley would engage with opposition education spokespersons today, while he would engage with the child care sector.
The advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) had always been that schools were safe places, and the decision to delay their reopening until January 11 was part of a sustained effort to reduce movements in the community and stop transmission of the virus. , he said.
“We want to avoid a long-term shutdown, but we keep the situation under review. If Nphet’s public health guidance were to change at any stage, obviously government policy would change. “
Regarding the position of the education sector in the list of vaccination priorities, the minister said that if there were changes in the sector, that position would be reviewed.
Children’s Minister Roderick O’Gorman said the government was willing to introduce more restrictions if necessary. Stock Photography: Dara Mac Dónaill
Level 5 restrictions were introduced on December 24 and December 30 and it would take 10-14 days for their impact to be seen.
O’Gorman told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the government would do more if necessary, but “we have to give the restrictions time to work.”
A daily record of 4,962 Covid-19 cases was confirmed on Sunday, pushing overall infection figures past the 100,000 mark.
Mr. O’Gorman defended the Government’s plan to keep the nurseries open to care for the children of essential workers. When asked if there should be a second list to prioritize healthcare workers, O’Gorman said a second list would confuse the situation.
However, he agreed that daycare centers should prioritize cases where parents cannot work from home.
Level 5 restrictions were introduced on December 24 and December 30 and it would take 10 to 14 days for their impact to be seen, O’Gorman said. A prolonged closure of schools would not be good for children, he said, but the government would keep the situation under review.
Meanwhile, immunologist professor Luke O’Neill has said he cannot contemplate reopening schools next week if the number of Covid cases continues to rise.
Speaking at the Pat Kenny Show in Newstalk, he acknowledged that keeping schools closed would be a difficult decision, but said a prolonged closure might be necessary if the broadcast “is out of control.”
“Closing schools will have all kinds of repercussions, so it is very difficult. If we get to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and the numbers are even higher, I don’t see schools opening, because it’s another risk, “he said.
On the other hand, Professor Anthony Staines, a public health expert, warned that reported plans not to alert all close contacts of positive cases would be counterproductive.
“One of the basic aspects of public health is that the more you know about the cases you are treating, the better,” he told Newstalk’s Breakfast Briefing.
There was also a real concern that if people were not tested, they would not be “in the system” and contacts would not be traced, which was really important in breaking transmission of the disease, he said.
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