90% of Covid-19 outbreaks in schools involved fewer than 10 cases
"Delta variant was not something we had to contend with last year", that's according to the INTO's Assistant General Secretary & Director of Communications, David Geary, but he added vaccination numbers were not at the level they are now, with 85% of all adults in Ireland, now fully vaccinated.
Mr. Geary noted the examination of how Delta, & other variants, work in school settings needs to be understood more.
Over 46,000 children in Ireland contracted Covid-19 between the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and July 2021, according a HSE report.
4% of children, under the age of 18, tested positive for Covid-19 during the previous school year.
4 in 10 schools required a public health risk assessment and close contact testing.
90% of Covid-19 outbreaks in schools involved fewer than 10 cases.
39 Leaving Cert students tested positive between the end of school year and the start of exams, with 21 had to missing examinations as they were isolating.
The vast majority of school outbreaks involved fewer than 10 cases and the report concluded schools should seek to re-open as a high priority.
The HSE’s Public Health Schools Response Lead Dr Abigail Collins says schools remain low risk environments:
The HSE’s Public Health Schools Response Lead Dr. Abigail Collins says it was more likely that adults would spread the virus in schools:
David Geary joined Clem Ryan on Monday's edition of 'Kildare Today':