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Dublin, March 2
Primary and secondary schools in Ireland have reopened as scheduled under a phased plan previously announced by the government.
Under the plan, all the primary school students up to Class II and Leaving Certificate students or the students in their last year of secondary school education can return to classrooms starting from March 1, reports Xinhua news agency.
The remaining students of primary schools and the fifth-year students of secondary schools will resume in-school education on March 15, followed by the reopening of all the secondary school classes on April 12.
Announcing the plan last week, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that the government will closely monitor the reopening of the schools in the country to ensure a safe return of in-school education.
Image/Robert Herriman
According to the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan:
“I can confirm that we have detected the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 by whole genome sequencing at the National Virus Reference Laboratory in UCD.
“Further testing in the coming days and weeks will establish the extent to which it is present here. In the meantime, it is vitally important that we each stay at home, avoid social contact and avoid all forms of non-essential travel.
“It is particularly important that those who have arrived from the UK strictly self-isolate for a full 14 days following arrival. They should not interact with others, visit others, socialise or go shopping. The HSE is making arrangements to test recent arrivals from the UK.