About 1,200 schoolchildren are being ordered daily to limit their actions after testing optimistic for Covid 19 or as a result of they’re a detailed contact of a confirmed case.
Niamh O’Beirne , head of the Well being Service Government’s testing and tracing service, stated reopening of faculties was behind a 17 per cent spike within the variety of exams for the virus carried out over the weekend, in comparison with the earlier weekend.
The service offers with about 120 main faculties and 80 secondary daily.
“About 1,200 college students a day are contacted by us to limit their actions,” she informed RTÉ’s Information at One.
“We had a really busy weekend. Testing was up 17 per cent on the prior weekend. We examined round 30,000 individuals this weekend at neighborhood websites.”
Ms O’Beirne stated the 155,000 exams carried out during the last week was “fairly excessive total for the yr to this point. We’re testing loads beneath the age of 18 in the intervening time . . . they’re representing the overwhelming majority of these coming ahead.”
Ms O’Beirne agreed the return to high school was driving excessive numbers.
“This occurred additionally final yr,” she stated.
“Different viruses flow into when youngsters return to high school. And oldsters and faculties would really like youngsters to return ahead for testing to know whether or not they have Covid or whether or not they have one other virus. In order that can be driving the quantity of testing occurring.”
Danger evaluation
Ms O’Beirne urged college principals who’re conscious of a optimistic case to await public well being recommendation earlier than sending different youngsters dwelling, as a danger evaluation must be carried out.
She denied any scaling again involved tracing at faculties.
“We proceed to do contact tracing in faculties. We’ve the identical capability that we’ve at all times had . . . it nonetheless occurs the identical means it beforehand did,” she stated.
Ms O’Beirne stated that when the pandemic turns into endemic there will probably be a cut-off date the place testing will probably be in the reduction of, though she added: “we aren’t there but. At any time when the menace from the virus has light and it’s not acceptable to limit the actions of so many individuals if they’re a detailed contact . . . we do anticipate in the end there will probably be a change to the testing coverage.”