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Explainer: How schools are handling Covid-19 pressure not long after reopening

Schools reopened their doors to pupils over the last couple of weeks – how have they been dealing with Covid cases?

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY schools reopened their doors to students over the last couple of weeks after the summer holidays.

A lot has changed since they finished up – namely the dominance of the more transmissible Delta variant and soaring vaccinating rates. 

As of Friday, 90% of adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but there are still upwards of 1,000 people testing positive for Covid each day.

The incidence rate of the disease among young people has been falling in recent days.

Thousands of under 18s have had to restrict their movements since schools reopened after they became close contacts of a confirmed case.

Principals have reported difficulties accessing risk assessments and advice from the HSE on Covid-19 cases and identifying close contacts. 

CEO of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Páiric Clerkin told The Journal that principals were under “considerable pressure” in handling the cases that crop up. 

Case numbers 

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows that 7,083 people aged 0-18 tested positive for Covid-19 between 26 August and 8 September.

This is about one-third of all cases confirmed during this time. 4,570 cases were among those aged 12 and under. 

The age group with the highest number of cases during this 14-day period was 5-12. 

However, HSE public health specialist Dr Abbey Collins said the highest incidence rates of Covid-19 in children took place during school holidays.

Prior to the summer break this year, there were on average 1,000 cases per week among those aged 0-18, but this figure rose to between 3,500 and 4,000 a week when children were out of school.

Dr Collins said: “We saw the largest number of children get Covid over January… over July and August, when the children haven’t been in school.

She said that outside of schools, children often only get tested for the virus if a parent or family member has tested positive.

In schools, however, proactive testing and tracing is done where any positive case arises.

On Wednesday, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said the incidence rate of Covid in young people is “falling significantly”.

“We are seeing early encouraging signs that the rate of infection plateauing in children of school going age,” Dr Holohan said in a statement. 

Chair of NPHET’s epidemiolocal modelling advisory group Professor Philip Nolan also said there is “considerable evidence” that with mitigation measures in place schools are “not major sites of transmission”. 

Professor Nolan said that the Delta variant is more transmissible, but the methods of transmission remain the same. 

“It is reasonable to assume that mitigation measures that were effective against Alpha will also be effective against Delta, though they need to be strictly observed, and the situation monitored,” he said on Twitter.

He added that school openings and closures have had a “minimal effect on incidence in the population as a whole”. 

Students restricting their movements 

Unvaccinated people who are determined to be close contacts of a person with Covid-19 are required to restrict their movements and be tested for Covid-19. 

A spokesperson for the HSE said on Tuesday that approximately 12,000 students were restricting their movements after being deemed a close contact.

This estimate increased in the days following, but has since been rowed back until official figures are confirmed. 

“Prior to schools returning there were approximately 4,000 cases per week in 0-18-year-olds, many of these children will now have also been in an educational facility and hence a high impact on the schools testing processes,” a HSE spokesperson said during the week.

However, a spokesperson said yesterday that “meaningful data” has not yet been finalised so more details on this will be released next week. 

The HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer said this week that evidence shows asymptomatic children are “very inefficient transmitters” of Covid-19. 

Niamh O’Beirne, the HSE national lead for testing and tracing, said recently that schools will be “busy from a testing perspective” throughout September. 

“It is expected that there will be a degree of transmission in schools but the advice from public health has remained as before and all the measures are in place within the schools,” she said. 

No need to restrict movements

Students who are fully vaccinated do not have to restrict their movements if they are close contacts, but vaccines are still only available for people aged 12 and older so most primary school students are not currently eligible for vaccination.

Those who are not fully vaccinated must get tested for Covid-19 and restrict their movements for 10 days if they become a close contact.

They will be permitted to stop restricting their movements if they test negative for Covid-19 10 days after they were last in contact with the person who tested positive and they do not have any symptoms of the virus. 

The HSE said it will contact any student deemed to be a close contact, but principals this week flagged days-long delays to receive risk assessments and advice from public health teams.  

CEO of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Páiric Clerkin told The Journal on Wednesday that there is a “very clear process in place for schools to follow” after they have been notified of a positive case among a student or staff member.

“When that process is working well, it’s usually completed within a matter of hours. But pressures are emerging because the response times – they’re not being measured in hours, but in days,” he said. 

Clerkin said the increased case numbers and difficulty accessing public health guidance created a “pinch point” for principals and put them under “considerable pressure”. 

“They are making judgement calls without public health advice,” he said. “We hope it can be rectified as soon as possible.

“It’s still early into the reopening of schools and it’s certainly pressurised at the moment and probably more pressurised than the system was last year.”

The Education Minister said later that a school principal should not have to be in a position to make a public health judgement.

Speaking to RTÉ radio’s News at One, the HSE’s Dr Colm Henry said additional supports have been put in place in an effort to more quickly carry out risk assessments.

“We’ve put in extra resources to those public health departments as of today to try and ensure that we can catch up with any backlog that exists and support the principals,” Dr Henry said. 

He said the HSE is maintaining the policy for unvaccinated people, including students, to restrict their movements if they are close contacts. 

Vaccinated people do not have to restrict their movements unless they show symptoms when – like anyone else – they should self-isolate, contact a GP and get referred for a PCR test if advised to do so. 

Criticism

Labour education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin this week described the managing of the reopening of schools as “shambolic”. 

“Neither the Department nor the HSE have engaged with schools who are left in the position of attempting to awkwardly manage contact tracing and avoid outbreaks locally,” the TD said. 

“My office has been inundated with contact from Principals and others in school communities up and down the country who are dealing with little else other than Covid.”

He said schools should have been better equipped with ventilation systems and smaller class sizes. 

Social Democrats education spokesperson Gary Gannon also said more adequate resources should have been in place to support schools. 

“Instead, principals have been abandoned by the HSE and the Department of Education – with many forced to perform contact-tracing themselves as calls to the dedicated helpline go unanswered,” Gannon said in a statement.

Education Minister Norma Foley said that her department continues to work with the HSE on the best public health advice. 

 “I absolutely do understand how any child being out of school, or any young person being out of school, for any length of time absolutely discommodes the children and young people themselves, but equally so their families so I am very mindful of that,” Foley told RTÉ radio. 

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:38 PM

    No way Michael. Like you couldn’t see this coming. Ireland is an easy target tho keep that in mind.

    1160
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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:34 AM

    @Paul Gorry: let’s not be shy about this situation. The government have failed here. Refugees living on the streets of Ireland as i type. FFFG should disengage immediately. If only! .A government not fit for purpose. Just the usual jack the lads tripe they spit out over and over again. And by the way Pascal stick yer posters where the sun don’t shine.

    382
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    Mute Thomas Sheridan
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:35 PM

    We have a full generation of working people from 20 – 40 years old who are permanent hamsters in the property rental circus – and yet, people here are obsessed with providing accommodation for uncontrolled illegal immigration

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    Mute Gearóid MacEachaidh
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    Jan 27th 2023, 4:40 PM

    @Thomas Sheridan: it’s not “uncontrolled illegal immigration “. It is 100% legal to claim asylum and the authorities of that country are duty bound to process that claim. The numbers arriving are more than we can handle, due to how many Ukrainians we’ve taken in, but calling something” illegal immigration ” when it’s not is the kind of hateful lies that are being spouted by far right groups at protests recently.

    13
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    Mute George Vladisavljevic
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:39 PM

    Seriously, if the government count manage to house their own homeless before the start of othe Ukrainian conflict and arrival of some 70,000 refugees as well as the normal number of refugees from other parts of the world, what was the expected result. No real or serious investment in housing for over a decade, and this is supposed to be a surprise. Muppets

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    Mute George Vladisavljevic
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:40 PM

    @George Vladisavljevic: …could not manage

    119
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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:42 PM

    @George Vladisavljevic: since the current Govt came into office there has been the largest every investment in housing – €4,000,000,000 per annum, not a cent of which is been used to provide temporary shelter for fellow human beings fleeing from war.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:51 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: Stephen Ireland is closed. There is no where to put these unfortunate people. What are you not understanding?

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    Mute Paul Linehan
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    Jan 27th 2023, 7:16 AM

    @Stephen Kearon: There may well have been an allocation of €4 billion for last year and this year. But the actual spend on new builds in 2022 was €2.2 billion, leaving almost half of the allocated monies either spent on existing overpriced housing stock (which most required upgrades) or the money returned to the exchequer. Anyone can budget for the year ahead and allow for a contingency amount. But the gombeens in charge of the country’s finances are either over budgeting and not being able to achieve an end result. Or setting a budget without proper delivery terms and conditions that runs into almost 3 times the initial costings. You can’t defend the indefensible on this one Stephen.

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
    Favourite Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:39 PM

    Anyone else starting to feel a tad unsafe (including forcing refugees into an equally unsafe situation (sleeping on streets….’sleeping-on-streets’ – this is protection? And riots) This and other situations (young people unable to afford mortgages – lives on hold, overcrowded A&E, Children not receiving mental care. And HOUSING. The list is endless) Is it the governments plan to confuse us in a malady of chaos – smoke and mirrors? Oh wait….we have a plan to make a plan. No, this is vanity and chaos…right here, right now. We are experiencing chaos. Quiet…creeping chaos wrapped in professional answers in the key of denial and spin.

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    Mute Jason Dawson
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    Jan 27th 2023, 5:49 AM

    @Keth Warsaw: exactly, the only thing I have seen these leaders excel at over the last twenty years is to put themselves on pedastals.
    Pedastals high enough to look down on us, high enough that they can’t hear us.

    386
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    Mute Baronvoncass
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:12 PM

    This is only the start, population growth refugee pressure and economic migration are only going one way. Question is what is our acceptable quota per year. In 2030 if we have 200000 a year refugees incoming because we are seen as an idealistic country which let’s face it that’s where we are placing ourselves. Are we going to plan for those numbers??? Quota , limitation of migration or plan for colossal numbers in the future which means radical transport, infrastructure, hospital increase.

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:17 PM

    @Baronvoncass: Are we going to plan for these numbers? Absolutely not this government haven’t planned for the numbers in 2023 they are up shit creek without a paddle.

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    Mute Will Roche
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:43 PM

    Loves a good holiday does Michael.

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    Mute James Delaney
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:41 PM

    Fffg out

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:59 PM

    @James Delaney: and sleepy jesus eamonn james.

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    Mute Paul Mohan
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    Jan 27th 2023, 6:04 AM

    Isn’t that why we have a government to monitor and control the amount of asylum seekers are coming to our country we are only a small island look after the Irish homeless first

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    Mute The next small thing
    Favourite The next small thing
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    Jan 27th 2023, 10:21 AM

    @Paul Mohan: To control the numbers coming in we would need to stop all flights, ferry’s etc as, under international law, all anyone needs to do is claim asylum once they get off the flight/ferry (even if they managed to have travel documents when they boarded but not when they land, must have blown out the planes windows) and then they are in the system and need to be processed.

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    Mute Cathal O'sullivan
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:39 PM

    A few facts…….37 countries in Africa have ‘serious, or worse’ levels of hunger. Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia are facing the worst food crisis seen in 40 years as per Dec 2022. Population of Ethiopia 120 million, Somalia 17 million, and Kenya 53 million.
    More than 20 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to find enough to eat, and over 1 million have fled their homes, according to the United Nations as per Nov 2022. Some are predicting the same or worse famine than 1980s. Number affected by single famine in 1983-85 was 4 million.
    Perhaps a member of government, in the interests of transparency, will let everyone, Africans included, know how many famine refugees Ireland will take during the next famine?
    Presumably we’ll take at least !% (2% if we want to be best in class) of european ‘allocation’, in other words 50,000 individuals to Ireland, if Europe ‘accepts’ 5 milllion refugees(?). In addition to refugees of war and conflict currently estimated at 80,000 in 2023. you can understand why no politicians will discuss the issue in detail.

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
    Favourite Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 27th 2023, 12:04 AM

    @Cathal O’sullivan: Population control? Personally, I think it’s an abuse to bring a child into a world/situation where it cannot be accommodated 100 %. Whatever the hemisphere. Humans have a big problem with reality.

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    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:26 PM

    @Cathal O’sullivan: The population of Africa just keeps rising exponentially in spite of all the famines that plague the continent.
    The population was estimated to be around 100 million before it was colonised in the 1870s, it’s around 1.4 billion now and it’s estimated to reach 4 billion by the end of this century, approximately 5 times what the population of Europe is now.
    We’re struggling to accommodate the relatively small number of refugees we have now but the numbers are going to increase exponentially as war, famine and climate change push people northwards.
    Yet some idealists imagine we’ll somehow have the resources to deal with them all.

    69
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    Mute Joanne Stokes
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    Jan 27th 2023, 8:44 AM

    What about our own homeless they count too!

    183
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    Mute Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:55 PM

    It would seem those in Direct Provision should settle in for the long ..long…unending wait that will never come. It seems only fair that DP join the ever-growing queues that includes housing, health and AOB that Ireland is unable to organize and deliver, or in other words ‘Equality’ of a sort. There’s a case for monarchy here: A King and/or Queen cannot slope off after five years.

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    Mute Red Line
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    Jan 27th 2023, 8:19 AM

    What a surprise. My top comment deleted. Nothing I said was untrue

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    Mute cathalsurfs
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:23 AM

    @Red Line: Was it this comment?

    “Refugees. Fleeing from London, Germany and other tourist locations. They might think the majority of Irish people are stupid but some of us are not.”

    Apparently such a statement gets you a toxicity level 6.3! Googles free speech suppression algorithms (Jigsaw) rates you highly dude!

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    Mute Red Line
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:24 PM

    @cathalsurfs: it’s a crazy world

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    Mute Don Hogan
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    Jan 27th 2023, 2:04 PM

    It is not rocket science Michael Martin. Reduce the number of refugees to match the available accommodations.

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    Mute Nicholas Grubb
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    Jan 27th 2023, 7:49 AM

    Why are the economic migrants coming here. Simply because of the mess in their home country. An exact equivalent of all aid going in, goes out into the offshore assets of their elites. These assets need to be seized and sent back the origin country for use by properly managed Sovereign Wealth funds, for the purpose of social and infrastructural development. The owners? being given 25 or more year, bonds in their home country currency. These of course will become worthless, unless the owners pull their fingers out and make sure their country prospers. Rather like the Land Bonds here became not worth the paper they were printed on, though that was a result of inflation.

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    Mute Nicholas Grubb
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    Jan 27th 2023, 8:54 AM

    @Nicholas Grubb: and with our esteemed Michael D. the only non African at that big conference just held out there, pouring out his bleeding heart, guess which European country they will be heading for, Higgins’s or Melonie’s. Stand by for a bumper year.

    149
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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:40 PM

    Ireland is a friendly, welcoming country committed to the protection of human rights. Those fleeing war, famine, abuse, etc, will find support here.

    Members of normal society know our history and are proud of our positive contributions around the world. Those seeking refuge are welcome here.

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    Mute Paul Kossoff
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    Jan 26th 2023, 10:42 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: That’s funny..

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 26th 2023, 11:41 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: Click-bate.

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    Mute Keth Warsaw
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    Jan 27th 2023, 12:00 AM

    @Stephen Kearon: You should really be in government Stephen. You’d fit in perfectly with your unrealistic illogical heartfelt nonsense that urinates (albeit indirectly) upon the people you purport to represent. Either that, or join an Order.

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    Mute NotMyIreland
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    Jan 27th 2023, 7:52 AM

    @Paul Gorry: fairly hypocritical coming from a man who spends a lot of time on the journal calling on the young people of Ireland to leave in search of a better life when moaning about the situation in this country. So you encourage young Irish citizens to become economic migrants but refuse to accept any here?

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Jan 27th 2023, 1:43 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: I take it that you are more than willing to allow some to come and stay with you. Maybe you can have other family members and friends help out too?

    32
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    Mute Pauline Gallagher
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    Jan 27th 2023, 11:39 PM

    @NotMyIreland: Irish people go to other countries to WORK, not live on welfare

    28
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