Parents should not bring their children trick-or-treating if they have any Covid-19 symptoms as “concern” grows over infections among five to 12-year-olds, the country’s top doctors have warned.
Health chiefs have said there has been a significant increase in the number of young children testing positive for Covid-19 and admitted “it’s not entirely clear yet” what is driving transmission in that age group.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said: “We will focus on that age group over the coming days to see if there’s anything else that needs to be done over and above what’s already being done.
“I think it comes back to the basic measures, people can trick or treat, things they would normally do at Halloween but maybe don’t do it every day over the weekend.
“Maybe don’t meet up with multiple groups of children over the weekend and the core and key message and it will mean some children are very disappointed, but if you have a sick child then please isolate them and don’t let them mix with other children.
“It’s not a message that any of us want to be giving or a message parents want to hear but we do need to take the basic precautions.
"If your children are going on playdates or engaging in sport, think about all of the other activities they’re engaging in and just see do they need to be engaging in everything that they’re engaging in, given how high incidence is in the country at the moment."
Professor Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health of HSE West, said although there are outbreaks in schools, “a lot of transmission” is occurring outside of school settings and in homes and in other social settings.
She said: “The rise in transmission in this age group is concerning..it is something we’re keeping a close eye on.
“It’s really important that parents take the responsibility of keeping children with symptoms at home until they’re 48 hours symptom-free if it is symptoms suggestive of Covid they need to get a test.”
