Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
695. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the latest guidance supplied to his Department regarding the wearing of facemasks in primary and post-primary school settings; and his views on whether the publication of detailed medical advice would help to reassure those with doubts. [13023/22]
View answerFollowing its meeting on 20th January 2022, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) advised that the prevailing profile of COVID-19 in Ireland and the available evidence and experience of Omicron internationally allowed for a fundamental change in the management of COVID-19. It advised that this should entail a transition, in broad terms, from a focus on regulation and population wide restrictions to a focus on public health advice, personal judgement and personal protective behaviours.
On 17th February, the NPHET recommended the removal of remaining public health measures from 28th February, as planned, on the basis that there is no longer a continuing public health rationale for retaining them.
In providing its advice, the NPHET emphasised the reintroduction of measures in the future cannot fully ruled out and we must continue to ensure our response is agile and flexible, with an ability to respond rapidly and appropriately to any emerging threat. They further advised that there will be an ongoing requirement to be able to scale up appropriate responses quickly should they be required.
While mask wearing is no longer mandatory in certain settings including primary and post-primary school settings, the NPHET recommended that masks should still be worn in healthcare settings, and their use should continue to be advised on public transport where physical distancing can be difficult and where those who are more vulnerable to the severe impacts of COVID-19 do not always have discretion to avoid.
The Department of Health will continue to give clear guidance and communication to the public on the evolving disease profile as well as supporting a cultural shift towards embedding individual and collective personal behaviours to mitigate against COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
The NPHET letters to the Minister for Health are available to read at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/ba4aa0-letters-from-the-cmo-to-the-minister-for-health/.
You may wish to note that guidance around the wearing of face coverings in schools falls under the remit of the Department of Education.
