A primary school in Co Mayo has reversed its decision to close until after Christmas over concerns about the spread of cornonavirus.
Claremorris Boys National School had decided to shut it doors after a number of students tested positive for the virus.
Public health officials did not back the move and on Friday evening it emerged the Department of Education did not support the move either.
The school's principal, Mark Loftus, said the school will now be open on Monday for students who are not isolating.
Earlier Mr Loftus had defended the decision to close early and said the idea of keeping schools open at all costs was not acceptable.
“We were left with no alternative. We are trying to be both reactive and proactive,” he told RTÉ.
Mr Loftus said the school has 125 pupils divided into five classes, two of which had to be sent home because of a number of cases diagnosed recently.
In the past three weeks since the first case was discovered the two classes had to go into lockdown because of subsequent cases and their close and casual contacts, he explained.
A further two cases were confirmed by parents on Thursday at which stage Mr Loftus contacted public health officials and asked that the school be closed, however the public health officials were not willing to do so, he said.
Mr Loftus said that he felt he was left with no alternative but to close the school to minimise the spread of Covid-19 in the school community and to allay the fears among parents, teachers and pupils.
'Stressful time'
This was “an exceptionally stressful time” he added. It had been unrealistic to expect schools to stay open “at all costs”. Children had been asking why it was necessary to have windows open in the middle of winter.
Mr Loftus said he had hoped that the Department of Education and public health officials would be supportive of the early closure. But they had wanted see evidence of cross-contamination.
“From our perspective we were very aware of the anxiety levels at home and among the pupils.”
The principal said he knew families wanted to have a safe Christmas and some were concerned about older or vulnerable family members. “We felt it was the right decision to make. We were left with no alternative.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said while they understand schools and principals have been working tirelessly through these unprecedented times, there is no public health rationale for altering agreed standardised school breaks.
Schools will close for the Christmas holidays as arranged on Tuesday, December 22nd.
