Schools are bracing themselves for staff shortages and Covid-19 outbreaks after public-health officials gave the green light for the education sector to reopen tomorrow.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said it was "inevitable" children would pick up the infection from household contacts over the coming days and weeks which, in turn, would lead to more cases and outbreaks in schools.
Hospital Report
However, he said latest research indicated that schools were a lower-risk environment for the transmission of the virus and the majority of children who are infected experience a mild form of the disease.
The move to reopen schools follows a meeting between Minister for Education Norma Foley, public-health officials and education partners yesterday against a backdrop of record Covid-19 cases numbers driven by the Omicron variant.
Public-health officials advised that there was “no public-health rationale” in keeping schools closed beyond this week.
Self-isolating
While teachers’ unions said they would facilitate school reopening, they warned of potential school closures due to the volume of staff being forced to self-isolate.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland warned of “intense disruption” for schools.
It said schools will have flexibility to prioritise in-person teaching for certain groups of students - such as exam years - in cases it is impossible to source enough staff.
The Teachers Union of Ireland said it would continue to push for schools to be given flexibility on how they reopen based on their particular circumstances.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said it had been advised that school inspectors will be made available to advise on whether remote learning may be needed in the event that substitution cover is not available.
Meanwhile, Coalition leaders have sought a review of close contact isolation requirements amid fears over the impact of the rules on vital services.
Currently, close contacts of a confirmed case must isolate for between five and 10 days, depending on their vaccination status.
Government figures are keen to relax obligations on asymptomatic, vaccinated contacts.
The matter is expected to be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team, after which Coalition leaders do not expect to announce any further restrictions – including limits on the number of households that can mix indoors.
This is despite statements from Dr Holohan over Christmas that indoor mixing of households should be avoided.
Officials believe any change to close-contact rules, however, would have to be balanced against the extra transmissibility of the Omicron variant and the record case numbers it is driving.
While there is acceptance that rules need to be simplified and clarified, there is caution among officials over broad changes to isolation policy in the midst of the current wave.
A recommendation on whether self-isolation periods for people who have Covid or for close contacts can be reduced is not expected until next week.
Cautious optimism
Despite the record case numbers – a further 21,302 cases were recorded yesterday, alongside an increase of 80 patients in hospital to 884 – there is cautious optimism among senior sources that the wave will not translate to pressure in ICUs or mortality like last winter.
Early data is understood to suggest that the disease may not be spreading as quickly among older and more vulnerable cohorts, who are also heavily boosted. There are 90 people with Covid in ICU – 73 were in critical care on the same day last year.
