Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
1814. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Health if his Department has engaged with the Department of Education on the roll-out of the antigen testing programme to secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1931/22]
View answerThe evidence relating to the detection of COVID-19, and the actions deemed appropriate to mitigate the impact of the virus across the population, are kept under continuing review by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the Department of Health and by the Government.
The guidance in relation to testing for secondary school pupils is reflected in the public health guidance on what to do if you require a test for COVID-19. This guidance, which is dependent on the age and circumstances of the individual concerned, is available on the HSE website as follows: www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/testing/get-tested/ .
The HSE, under the guidance and direction of NPHET and the Department of Health currently supply antigen tests, free of charge, to all symptomatic persons aged from 4 to 39, and to all close contacts of confirmed cases. This includes people attending or working in secondary school in those age cohorts.
The Deputy may wish to note the following advice in relation to the management of COVID-19 cases and close contacts aged over 12 years, effective from Friday 14th January:
- Anyone experiencing symptoms should immediately self-isolate and seek a test appropriate to their individual circumstances.
- All close contacts aged over 12 years old should take regular antigen tests over 7 days, with the last test on day 7. Those who have not had their immunity boosted should restrict their movements for 7 days, and those who have had their immunity boosted will not be required to restrict their movements.
- Anyone in receipt of a positive antigen test result should regard it as definitive and register their result on a new HSE portal. A confirmatory PCR test is no longer required in this instance.
- Individuals who have a positive COVID-19 test result should commence their period of self-isolation from date of onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic, from date of first positive test result (antigen or PCR) and continue for a minimum of 7 days.
- Exit from self-isolation after 7 days will be on the basis that symptoms have substantially or fully resolved for the final 2 of those 7 days.
There is ongoing consideration of the role of antigen testing in various settings and in other scenarios. The role of testing and contact tracing, as part of the wider public health response, has been under ongoing review throughout the pandemic and will continue to be reviewed and amended in line with the epidemiological profile of the disease, its impact on healthcare utilisation and outcomes, the vaccination status of the population and ECDC guidance.
