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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS say they are not anticipating asking the Government to keep schools closed after mid-term break.
Teachers’ unions have expressed concerns about the reopening of schools if safety measures around Covid-19 are not improved.
But chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said that based on current evidence, it is not envisioned that schools should not reopen as planned.
At the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) briefing this evening, he said: “In terms of the data we’re looking at, we do not anticipate that we’ll be in a situation where we’ll be going back to advise the minister to advise Government that on public health grounds, we wouldn’t see at this moment in time that schools shouldn’t reopen as planned.”
The NPHET briefing heard that the positivity rate in primary schools is 2.7% and is 2.1% in post-primary – well below the community transmission rate of 10%.
Dr Heather Burns said part of the reason why the rate was higher in primary schools was because of the difficulty in implementing social distancing and other public health guidelines in those settings.
She said: “I suppose there is nuance in the data there, in terms of the ability to operationalise the public health guidance.
“In younger age groups, that can be more difficult, and in children with special educational needs, obviously it’s more difficult to implement pod systems and physical distancing.”
“That can also be the case at primary level. So with younger primary aged children, it can be more difficult to adhere to pod systems.
“But I think the most important overall message is how much lower it is than the positivity rate among close contacts out in the general community setting, which stands at about 10%.
“All the data we have to date back up the international position that schools are not high-risk environments for Covid-19.”
On the concerns raised by teachers’ unions, Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain said supports are available for schools if they need them.
She said: “If there’s any concern about an outbreak in a school, there are public health teams that come out nationally to deal with every single school.
“We accept that every single school can be different. Those supports are there for public health.”
Today saw five further deaths related to Covid-19 and an additional 720 confirmed cases in Ireland.
It brings the number of coronavirus-related deaths to 1,890 and the total number of confirmed cases to 58,767.
Dr Holohan said that while there has been a drop in the number of cases from more than 1,000 a day, Ireland is “definitely not” in a position to say it has turned a corner in the fight against the disease.
But he said he was “confident” that if people adhere to Level 5 restrictions, then there will be a “significant suppression” of the virus over the coming weeks.
“We just hope it will be as much as we need,” Dr Holohan added.
However, he ruled out a relaxation of the public health advice in order to allow children to participate in Halloween activities at the weekend.
Dr Holohan said: “The impact of all of that on Halloween is going to be significant in terms of the way that children like to celebrate these kinds of events.
“I don’t think, unfortunately, that the disease transmission levels now are at a level where we can start saying we’re going to start setting aside some of that advice and guidance, notwithstanding the fact that it’s Halloween.”
The CMO reiterated his appeal to people who are close contacts of a positive case that they must self-isolate.
He said: “It is the most important thing, particularly so now for people who have cases, or might have symptoms of Covid, or are awaiting tests, and might have contacts, especially those who live in houses with people who are confirmed cases – they must self-isolate in their own rooms.
“They must restrict their movements, stay at home, if they’re contacts.”
As of today at 2pm, there were 341 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 38 are in ICUs. There were 29 additional hospital admissions in the last 24 hours.
Of the additional cases, 228 were in Dublin, 130 in Cork, 47 in Galway, 31 in Meath, 27 in Limerick and the remaining 257 cases are spread across another 20 counties.
Almost two thirds, 65%, of the additional cases were in people under 45 years of age and the median age is 32.
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Hardly surprising, this government has no interest in reducing Ireland’s carbon footprint other than by taxing residents on so called green initiatives. The waste in government departments & their quangos could save the country billions.
@@murraymitchell@mastodon.scot: Blatantly untrue. Read something other than Journal comments. I’m all for criticising the government, particularly for this failure to produce a climate plan, but this idea that it’s all about tax… just search online and you will find plenty of other strategies.
@@murraymitchell@mastodon.scot: our footprint is practically non existent. Its worst in poor countries whos citizens have frankly more important things to worry about, like putting food on the table and a roof over their heads. What can we reasonably do that we arent already doing? finding out that all the plastics we go to the trouble of seperating ends up in the same dump incinerator isnt helping, and i am not going electric until im forced to, seeing as most people only get them as a show off status symbol of wealth and ‘caring’. Im sick of the hypocrisy, there are very few people who really walk the walk on climate change, except that American actor from the 80s whos been driving an electric car for over 30 years
@Nicholas McMurry: it’s really about tax and power.
Yeah great I can see where this is going!!
The tax and the Greens. Rebate due Eamo?
@Mary Nugent: Eamo the green knight in shining armour coming to the rescue. Get stuffed.
@Paul Gorry: obviously not you Mary but the cretan mr Ryan.
The world is 15% more green than it was 20 years ago (size of the USA) simply because of more co2 in the atmosphere as plants are growing in semi arid regions desertification is not as extreme as they once believed it would be. 300 to 400 part’s per million co2 has been normal on earth previously and co2 levels have been higher before. Greta, eamon and the green multinational push will just steam roll us all and mother nature will always catch us all eventually.
@Jim Casey: The last time carbon levels were as high as they are now was 3 million years ago. There was no ice at the poles, and sea levels were at least 10m higher than today. The current rate of change in carbon levels is many times higher than any historical change that has been recorded. Mother nature may indeed catch us all, but removal of all the excess carbon from the atmosphere will take centuries.
@Nicholas McMurry: and nature will beat anything we do ……. simple put if we do nothing or something here in little Ireland it will means zero… it depends on China mostly and she has greened deserts despite opening a new coal power plant every week. Its a geopolitical thing as much as a climate crisis …….to stop climate change the poorest people must be made more wealthy so that they can see the benefits of been green and not just trying to survive. When we become more equal in terms of wealth then climate change might be tackled more effectively
@Jim Casey: Where’s your science? Nature will take centuries according to the available evidence. Do you have better information? Becoming greener is a necessary element of becoming more equal.
@Nicholas McMurry: And nature will reduce the carbon levels in centuries only if we stop pumping it into the atmosphere now.
@Nicholas McMurry: there facts ……which can be related to disciplines other than science…….. make the poor more wealthy and they’ll be more inclined to become green. No science needed
15 minute city, with a digital freedom pass, linked to your carbon credits, medical status all centrally controlled CBDC.
@O’Brien: sounds like a prison!
Hush, don’t wake Eamon Ryan, he might actually get something done that helps people
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