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DCU PROFESSOR OF Immunology Christine Loscher has said she believes it would be “sensible” to close schools this Friday in order to have a “really long circuit breaker” in the run-up to Christmas when inter-generational socialising will be high.
“I think in terms of just being sensible and preparing for the best possible scenario after Christmas … I really think that we should consider closing schools on Friday,” said Loscher, speaking this morning to Claire Byrne.
“Every child then will have at least seven or eight days of very minimal exposure to the virus and other children and mixing, and those symptoms will actually come to the fore before Christmas.”
“If you take your child out of school on Friday, you’ll know before Christmas seven or eight days later whether they have the virus,” she said.
A Department of Education spokesperson said today to RTÉ that “there are no plans to alter the school break at Christmas,” and added that school holidays are scheduled between teacher unions, school authorities and the Department to standardise these breaks.
The Department did not respond to a request for comment from The Journal at the time of publication.
Speaking on Newstalk this evening, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he does not think NPHET will recommend closing schools or colleges early at tonight’s meeting with the three party leaders.
“I think one of the things we learned from the lockdown is actually, that has an impact on children’s health, their wellbeing and their education, and I think it’s true that our schools have actually shown the ability, even in very difficult and very trying circumstances, to be a safe place,” he said.
I’d be strongly arguing that the mental health and the wellbeing of our children is better managed by our schools staying open and our colleges as well. I think it’s very important. A lot of those younger people, particularly in the last two years, have missed out on a lot of socialisation. It has a real impact, and I think we we have to make sure that they aren’t impacted in that way.
When asked if she was advising parents to take children out of school on Friday, Loscher said she was not, but that she wanted “to see a joined-up decision where we … give ourselves a better chance of the safe opening of schools after Christmas”.
Loscher added that school children are currently the population’s largest unvaccinated group, and will have high levels of mixing at schools in the coming days, particularly as HEPA filters have not yet arrived.
“We’re talking about doing that in the run-up to Christmas when we’re concerned about a highly transmissible variant,” said Loscher, adding “that doesn’t make sense to me in terms of doing everything we can to manage cases.”
Nothing about the schools situation or the possibility of early closures was raised or discussed at Cabinet today.
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no
@Mar Mar: clearly doesn’t understand some of us work for a living.
@Mar Mar: *This article was sponsored by the INTO
@Darren Mc Mahon: I’ve been working since I left school 30 years ago .
@Mar Mar: they weren’t talking about you
@Phil O’ Meara: huh? Wha? Why wouldn’t the INTO just come straight out and say it if they think it’s the right thing to do? I mean, it’s not like they aren’t a shower of useless, selfish snowflakey snowflakes who just want schools to close, right?
@Mar Mar: sorry I wasn’t referring to you
And will the teachers defer these 7/8 days until later in the year, or still take their summer holidays at the end of June as planned?
@Rob: Nope, we’re just getting longer holidays. Deal with it, princess.
@Rob: It’s 2.5 days extra where they be doing f all anyway. It makes sense so definately won’t happen.
@D74Life: You’re getting bleedin’ nuttin
@Rob: 7/8 days?! Where are ye getting those numbers? Clearly you weren’t great at maths in school …
@Rob: Are the Ts silent in “nuttin”?
@Rob: Rob I hope you’re not way behind on your Christmas shopping, it’s later than you think!
Que all the parents crying over their childs lost education. The same parents who are silent about freezing classrooms and kids with hot water bottles in school.
@Mogh Roith: What do you expect parents to do. Keep our kids at home until the Virus is gone? How long will that be? 6 months, a year, 2 year’s?.
@Mogh Roith: I haven’t heard a single child complain about school bring cold
@Mickety Dee: i also don’t know of anyone who has complained about cold in schools. Anecdotally here, but in person, no-one
@Mickety Dee: oddly enough I hear students and staff do so every day.
@Mickety Dee: I can give you the numbers of myself, my neighbours kids, my sisters kids, my friends kids if you want. My children came home so cold one day they were sick with head colds two days later. They have to go to school every day with layers upon layers on them. Your such a lucky person to live in the warm part of Ireland
@Roy Dowling: not at all. But I would expect parents to be as vocal about the safety and quality of education their kids get. Unfortunately, people like you view education as a babysitting service and nothing more.
@Mogh Roith: I was vocal spoke to my son’s principal. He said they have to follow guide lines and keep the windows open. Heating is running all day. Hes spoken to the board of management about getting in a the air filters but the school can’t afford them. They are doing the best the can with what they have I’m afraid.
@Sally: I recommend you buy your kids a couple of pairs of these. My son wears them to school and says they keep him warm.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BUYKUD-Compression-Underwear-Athletic-9-10years/dp/B07KM3YM98/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=27306TVIQZL2R&keywords=kids+base+layer&qid=1639510545&sprefix=kids+base+la%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-3
Oh no please don’t start messing with the kids again. They’ve been through enough and already stuff planned to celebrate next week. I have been so accepting of measures to now but I swear if my kids are kept off in the new year-I for one will be roaring about it. Their mental and social health is just starting to recover.Stakes too high this time around.
@Lucy Legacy: it’s 2 and a half days. Quit the Pearl clutching.
@Lucy Legacy: I’d say you’re the parent that’s talked about in the staffroom. Grow up.
@Graham Manning: it’s not about the 2 days. It’s the fact that January could be up for grabs again. We’ve been here before.
@Laura Ni Hearga: oh you’ve got me all scared now. Do you really think I care? I care about my kids, as any parent who has watched their young go through what they have done in their formative years. My worry is that it’s a stepping stone up shut down after Xmas. We had the longest shut down of schools in the world.
@Laura Ni Hearga: oh you’ve got me all scared now. Do you really think I care about the staff room? Grow up yourself. I care about my kids, as any parent who has watched their young go through what they have done in their formative years. My worry is that it’s a stepping stone up shut down after Xmas. We had the longest shut down of schools in the world.
@Lucy Legacy: this is literally to reduce the chances of January being “up for grabs”. You do get that right?
Gwaaan the journal, drive it on
@Thinkaboutit: Your post has made me delete the journal from my phone forever. Sick to the teeth with it. Thank you and good day.
@Davy Evans: agree. The journal is obsessed with covid. The Journal and Clare Byrne……………covid,covid,covid…and more covidddddd
@James Fox: Claire is a special kind of Covidphile. It’s incredible, and that just from my listening to the radio show.
Put a duffle on and get out to school, thats the problem with kids now all wrapped in cotton wool. Kids are fine. Strong immune systems leave them be ..stop all this nonsense now. Let them enjoy Christmas without anymore scare mongering. 4,500 cases a day hospital numbers are the same deaths are the same. Its here to stay ..move on with life.
@Derek Delaney: that’s the problem? Cotton wool? Jaysus, I’m mortified. Here I was thinking it was a global pandemic. Here, why don’t you just eat all the cotton wool? Two birds, one stone.
No the problem is they want to vaccinate kids. And they’re putting all the propaganda in place to do just that.kids are fine leave them be, until we see how all the guinea pigs get along with their 3rd 4th 5th jab so on..
Part of the reason for lower cases today, is the schools were closed during the storm
@Alan Campbell: that’s total nonsense. Cases reported today were swabbed 2 days ago. Nothing to do with storm and schools been closed a week ago
@Joanne Seitsukulo: it takes that amount of time to test positive.
Well the government said that they will not be closing the schools early for Christmas.
@Mick Dunne: That’ll be them closed tomorrow then
I hope they don’t. I say that as a teacher. Those days before the Christmas holidays are the best in the year. I love it. We take the reins off the teaching and have more of a focus on festive fun and games.
@Marcus Eugene: Heh thanks for that. That’s the vibe I get too.Teachers care. There’s so much more to school than studying.
Do children only mix with their relative at Christmas? I try to get mine to mix other time of the years too. Should we close the school for 2 weeks every month so they can visit their relatives safely or will covid not spread the rest of the year.
@Francis: how many days in a week there Francis?
@Mac Muinteoir: what??
@Francis: there’s clearly a spike around Christmas.
Really think where schools are concerned they need to let us make our own choices. Mine, including my 7 year old,wear masks,happily I should say. I test them if they’ve a sniffle and if they’re visiting they’re grandparents. We know it’s a risk but a calculated one. Our kids had the longest school closures in the WORLD- they’re all damaged in some way from it.No more.
@Lucy Legacy: Antigen tests should only be used in people, including children, if they have NO symptoms. If your kids have a “sniffle”, they should not be visiting their grandparents at all, until the symptoms are gone. How do you not know this at this stage????
@Kevin Farrell: in fairness, I took it to mean that she tests them if they have a sniffle, and also she tests them before visiting grandparents. Of course, what you said is absolutely correct.
@Kevin Farrell: yeah cheers for the tip Kev.
@Kevin Farrell: yeah cheers for the tip
How will the level of mixing in primary schools, as secondary school students can be vacinated, be any higher next week than they have been for the last 10 weeks?
No personally i think they are better off at school When they are off they have more of a chance of getting it. Look at Halloween loads got it.
@Joed: that particular ship has sailed, Joed. It then struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the deep blue sea. You’re gonna need a new ship. You could try Omicron Is Mild? That’s definitely sea-worthy.
Great idea for primary schools, only 2.5 days missing, when they’ll be singing Christmas songs, playing games etc…then the vacation program for primary school children will open in January.
What about college’s reopening at the end of January and students who are sharing cramped accommodation either on campus or in private a setting. Will they be asked to get a pcr test prior to returning?. I am not happy with the current set up or lack a plan as my daughter is returning to college in January
@Hugh Mc Donnell: stay crying about it big Hugh
@Hugh Mc Donnell: college students have the option to get vacatinated …primary school children do not, but will in January
Of course the schools should shut, omicron will otherwise run through them like wildfire.
It is a difficult decision and there isn’t any computer modeling of future cases availabe to the public.
Teachers would prefer the students to be in school as they are sitting Christmas exams.
@Michael Flanagan: computer modelling so far has a not served to validate the GIGO (garbage in garbage out) hypothesis.
@Michael Flanagan: that should have read “only served to”
If specific families are concerned, let them take their children out of school early. Some of these “please close the schools” appeals havr to do with the mindset of “my children are going for the 14 year unbroken school attendance award”, if that is the case maybe it is time to reconsider priorities and make your own decisions, rather than asking the government to officially close all schools.
That is one of the main reasons official school closures are so hard, but I tell you what, if you want your child to be home the last few days before Christmas, then keep them home with no shame. Otherwise let’s keep the schools open.
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