DUBLIN: NPHET notes that schools are safe despite the COVID cases spreading across Ireland. Officials from the National Public Health Emergency Response Team said they believe schools have a relatively safe environment.
During yesterday’s COVID-19 briefing, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn, Chair of NPHET’s Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory group Prof. Philip Nolan, and HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Colm Henry explained why they think it is safe to open schools and also they expressed concern over the general trends in the virus.
Deputy CMO Dr. Ronan Glynn said although there has been an increase in the number of cases of school children, the rate of increase in this group is lower than in the wider community.
Dr. Colm Henry said that there was a lot of anxiety when the schools reopened. But international figures suggest that communities are more at risk for schools than any other way, he said.
“There is very little evidence of onward transmission of COVID-19 in schools,” Dr. Henry said. He added that the widespread community transmission is a threat to schools, but schools are not a threat to communities.
“There’s really no significant chance both from the statistics and public health investigation that there is a link between schools and that number of [unexplained] household outbreaks,” said Prof. Philip Nolan.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the briefing, Prof. Philip Nolan warned that trends were not positive. He said the epidemic is worsening rather than improving in the country. He warned that if the current infection rate continues, there could be up to 2,500 cases a day by the end of the month.
The CMO Dr. Tony Holohan pointed out that community transmission is widespread in Ireland and not all infections and contacts can be detected. He advised the general public to minimise their socialisation as much as possible.
Dr. Holohan said that people should work from home as much as possible and that employers should allow their employees to do so. Just as individuals must take responsibility for minimising their social interactions, employers must also take responsibility for facilitating their workers, he added.