Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 October 2020
94. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education the circumstances under which a school should close as a result of staff testing positive for Covid 19; if her Department has been notified by principals of the numbers of confirmed positive cases among teachers in their school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30250/20]
View answerThe Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the HSE have published guidance for managing potential cases of COVID-19 in educational settings, which includes the testing strategy within an educational facility ‘Schools Pathway for COVID-19, the Public Health approach’:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a0bff-reopening-our-primary-and-special-schools/
This guidance provides that the HSE Department of Public Health will liaise directly with schools regarding any actions to be taken following a Public Health Risk Assessment. In practice, this involves the HSE Department of Public Health liaising directly with the designated contact, usually the school principal of the public health instructions. These instructions are for implementation of public health measures required under Infectious Diseases legislation.
As of 6th October, a total 252 schools have had/are having some testing completed as a consequence of a Public Health Risk Assessment. From the 252 schools that had mass tests, with 5,890 students and staff having been tested, an additional 112 detected cases have been identified over and above original cases (a positive detection rate of COVID-19 of less than 2%).
The Department of Health also note that these additional cases did not necessarily develop COVID-19 as a result of contact with an index case in the school, and the additional cases detected via contact tracing are likely to include people who contracted COVID-19 as result of exposure in the wider community (e.g. household/social setting).
