A Wicklow primary school has had to close its doors amid rising Covid case numbers today.
This marks the second school that has had to send pupils home as the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation calls for the government to reinstate past safety measures.
Concerns were originally being raised after a Wexford primary school shut its doors until after the mid-term break because 30 cases were confirmed.
Both schools will now have to switch to online teaching until it is deemed safe for the return of all students.
Last night, INTO asked that the previous test and trace methods come back into effect to ensure cases don’t get out of control elsewhere across the country.
Changes that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced back in September included;
- automatic contact tracing of close contacts in childcare facilities and primary education being discontinued
- testing of asymptomatic close contacts in childcare facilities and primary education discontinued
- children aged 13yrs or under, who are identified as close contacts in childcare, educational settings, special education settings or other non-household settings and who are asymptomatic no longer being required to restrict movements, unless indicated by the local public health team
- children aged 13yrs or under who are identified as household close contacts in household settings are still be required to restrict movements and get tested, regardless of symptomatic status
- public health advice remains that any child aged 13yrs or under who displays symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should rapidly self-isolate and not attend school or to socialise until 48 hours after they are symptom-free
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime on Monday, INTO’s John Boyle said these changes were “premature”.
He said that over the last few weeks there have been more than 1,350 positive cases of Covid-19 among 5 to 12 year olds.
Mr Boyle has called for a start to antigen testing in schools, and has asked for a review of the decision on facemasks.
