The definition that identifies a ‘close contact’ of Covid-19 in a school is to be changed to include those who have spent more than 15 minutes in close proximity to a confirmed case.
The new national definition of cases and contacts in childcare settings and schools has been published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), according to the Irish Examiner.
It comes as educators have repeatedly raised concerns that the definition of a close contact in schools has differed from the definition of a close contact in other settings.
Anyone in a school who has had face-to-face contact within less than a metre of a confirmed case of Covid-19 for more than 15 minutes will be classified as a close contact under the new definition.
Anyone who has been between one and two metres of a confirmed case of Covid-19 for more than 15 minutes in a school day will also be considered a close-contact, though consideration will also be given to other “mitigation measures”.
These measures include face-coverings, “pods” of students, ventilation, infection prevention control measures or uncertain compliance with the mitigation measures in place.
This will be assessed through a clinical public health risk assessment, which is undertaken for all educational settings attended by someone while they were infectious with the virus.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has welcomed the redefinition of a close contact in a school setting.
"We hope to tease this out in more detail, alongside a thorough assessment of the latest public health data at our meeting with the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) officials this week,” general secretary John Boyle said.
Covid-19 test appointments are also being issued as a priority for close contacts in schools, the Department of Education has confirmed to the INTO.
In a move to ensure fast turnaround times for testing, swabs for the school group are also sent to the laboratory as a “red-flagged” batch to be processed as a priority.
