Teacher staff rooms and school break times are an area of concern for the potential spread of Covid-19, according to a mid-term review of schools compiled by public health authorities.
As the Irish Times reports, the review found that overall schools remain safe with very limited evidence of transmission of the virus.
The report found the proportion of close contacts of pupils or staff who tested positive remained low, despite high levels of community transmission across Ireland, particularly in Dublin, during October.
However, in a series of recommendations, it says the support of education partners will be key to minimising close contacts in staff rooms and at break times.
The report says friendship circles, lunchtime activities, break time activities and supervision have been “highlighted as areas where close contacts have often been identified”.
In addition, it says staff rooms have “not infrequently” been highlighted as an area of concern for potential for infection transmission, resulting in a significant number of staff members being identified as close contacts.
Health precautions
The unpublished midterm report was completed at the end of last month for the HSE’s office of the clinical director of health protection.
It concludes that schools should remain open and that it is important that there is no laxity or slippage in health precautions.
It also notes that the support of public health authorities to support schools was “severely challenged” due to the second wave of cases before the midterm break.
Additional supports have subsequently been added with the redeployment of staff from the Department of Education’s inspectorate.
A total of 757 schools or pre-schools recorded a positive Covid-19 case up to the end of October and required a public health risk assessment along with follow-up testing.
More than 18,000 follow-up tests identified a further 538 cases across a total of 189 schools or pre-schools. Of these, 91 cases were over-18, while 447 were under-18.
This equates to a positivity rate for close contacts of 2.9 per cent, compared to about 10 per cent for the community.
