Schools return in Ireland amid Covid-related disruption

Schools reopened in Ireland on Thursday amid Covid-19 related disruption.

Earlier this week, public health chiefs told school managers and unions that it was safe to return to the classroom, despite the high case numbers.

Concerns remain among teachers’ unions, which have called for increased protective measures for staff and students to be implemented.

On Thursday evening, a spokesperson for the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) told the PA news agency that “some second-level schools have a full complement of student groups while others have taken a more staggered approach”.

The trade union reported that some schools are facing challenges amid widespread staff absences.

“Schools are doing their best to maximise the number of students attending while also seeking to provide the safest environment possible in very difficult circumstances,” the spokesperson said.

“This is challenging given reports from ASTI members that 15% to 30% of staff are absent due to Covid-related issues.

“The challenge is greatly exacerbated by the lack of freely available medical grade masks in schools and the fact that many classrooms that require HEPA filters do not have them.”

Education officials and principals are hoping that relying on trainee teachers and replacements will be enough to cope with Covid-related absences.

But the Government has acknowledged that the coming weeks will bring fresh challenges for staff, parents and pupils.

Substitute teachers who spoke to the PA news agency before schools returned on Thursday said they were concerned about the pressures schools are under.

Sorcha Ni Chonghaile, a 22-year-old primary school teacher from Meath, is mostly based in and around north Dublin.

She said she and her colleagues were scared but would be taking all the precautions they could.

She is concerned about whether there will be enough substitute teachers to plug the gaps, if replacement staff are forced into isolation too.

“I suppose there’s just that fear that, because there’s such little mitigation in the younger years, that we might end up in a situation where we’ve become a close contact ourselves and then there’s no fall-back,” she told the PA news agency.

“We just have to do what we can and try and keep ourselves safe.”

According to new data, more than 500 Covid-19 outbreaks linked to school staff and children were recorded in the second half of 2021.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) data covers the period between June 27 and the end of the year, and recorded 514 outbreaks linked to schoolchildren and staff.

The HPSC notes alongside the data: “Transmission of Covid-19 within the school has not necessarily been established in these outbreaks.”

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has accused the Department of Education of failing to make a decision on the provision of high-grade masks for schools.

General secretary Michael Gillespie said: “School communities are returning to unprecedentedly challenging environments around the country today. It is absolutely critical that the Department steps up and supports the efforts of staff and students to keep schools open.”

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy also criticised the way in which schools were reopened, calling it “reckless and unsafe”.

“With case numbers going through the roof, and most schoolchildren unvaccinated and almost all unboostered, this is a recipe for disaster,” he said.

A further 17,656 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland on Wednesday, as the number of people in hospital with the virus continues to rise.

However, politicians have said the fact that the number of people in intensive care remains relatively stable is a good sign for the country.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is meeting on Thursday to discuss the latest Covid situation.

However, senior ministers have indicated that no new restrictions are expected to be recommended.

Health officials are expected to discuss a possible relaxation of the rules for close contacts, given the impact they are having on workplaces.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTE Radio on Thursday: “It is a matter for Nphet in relation to this. It is a public health decision.

“That being said, it is something that is having a very big effect on the operation of many workplaces within our public services and within the private sector.

“And I do believe Nphet will take this into account, but it is a public health decision.”

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said on Wednesday that rising hospital numbers were a concern and urged people to keep up their efforts in following public health advice.

“It is concerning to see the rising number of people with Covid-19 in hospital,” he said.

“This means that our collective efforts to follow the public health advice remain very important.”

As Ireland’s booster programme continues, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said new EU Digital Covid Certificates would begin to be issued to people who have received a third jab from Thursday afternoon onwards.

More than 2.2 million booster jabs and third doses have been administered so far in Ireland.

The updated EU Covid-19 certificates are intended to be ready before new EU travel regulations take effect from February.

The Department of Health expects the updated certificates to be issued over a number of days.

Mr Donnelly said the booster programme had been a “wonderful success”.

“Those who have received an additional dose can expect to start to receive their updated certificate over the coming week,” he said in a statement on Thursday.