Health officials have recorded a significant increase in the number of Covid cases in children over the past week.
The number of cases in children aged 12 and under rose to 15,748, an increase of 4,500 in seven days.
The news comes as the government eased Covid measures on Friday and cut the isolation period of 14 days to 10 for those infected with the virus.
Before the next phase of Ireland's reopening plan was announced, outbreaks in schools increased to 18, up 15 from the previous week.
Although most restrictions were lifted, isolation periods remain in place, along with strict testing protocol to limit the spread of infection.
What to do if your child has symptoms
Your child needs to isolate from other people if they have symptoms. They need to do this at least until they get their test results.
If your child has symptoms and is doing antigen tests, continue to isolate and do regular antigen tests even if their first antigen tests are negative.
The most common symptoms of Covid-19 include:
- fever (high temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or more) - including having chills
- dry cough
- fatigue (tiredness)
Less common symptoms of COVID-19 include:
- loss or changed sense of taste or smell
- blocked nose
- conjunctivitis (red or pink eye)
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle or joint pain (aches and pains)
- skin rash
- nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
- chills or dizziness
However, your child can go to school with a runny nose or sneezing as long as they:
- have no other symptoms
- do not have a fever
- are otherwise well
But if your child has a runny nose and feels unwell or is off form, they should stay at home.
People your child lives with need to restrict their movements at least until your child gets their PCR test result or completes their antigen tests.
They do not need to do this if they:
- have had a booster vaccine more than seven days ago - boosters are only available to over 16s
- recovered from COVID-19 in the past three months and have had their first round of COVID-19 vaccine
- recovered from COVID-19 after testing positive since 1 December 2021
What they need to do next depends on your child's test result.
Negative PCR
If your child gets a negative PCR result or three negative antigen tests, they can stop isolating 48 hours after they have no symptoms.
They can return to school or childcare if they do not have another infectious disease, such as flu.
The people they live with who were restricting their movements can return to their normal activities as long as they do not have symptoms. If they have symptoms, they should isolate and get a COVID-19 test.
Positive PCR
If your child gets a positive test result
If your child's test result is positive, they should keep isolating until both of these apply:
- they have not had a high temperature (38 degrees Celsius or over) or other symptoms for two days
- it has been seven days since they first developed symptoms
If your child is doing antigen tests, you should also report their positive antigen test and list their close contacts.
The people they live with will become household close contacts. They need to get tested for COVID-19 and may need to restrict their movements. This will depend on the age and situation.
