Education Minister Norma Foley is braced for a wave of Covid cases in schools when they reopen.
The minister is beefing up the resources that her department provides to the dedicated HSE school-support teams to ensure there is a timely response where a positive case is detected.
School inspectors have been working with the HSE teams since the end of October, but more are being assigned to the task and they will also put in longer hours.
Overall, the plan is to increase the capacity of teams by 70pc in the fortnight around the reopening and the weeks immediately afterwards.
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INTO, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, recently released a letter asking the government to extend the Christmas holidays for students.
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The request comes amid the rising number of Covid cases and as the cabinet convenes to discuss safety measures for 2021.
The letter, addressed to Minister for Education and Skills, Department for Education and Skills, Norma Foley and written on December 29 reads: I write in advance of tomorrow’s cabinet meeting regarding additional public health measures to request that government give consideration to delaying the start of the next school term until Monday January 11, 2021 at the earliest.
Full Level 5 : What do the new restrictions mean for households and businesses?
The new restrictions come into force tonight until 31 January. By Ian Curran Wednesday 30 Dec 2020, 7:52 PM Dec 30th 2020, 7:52 PM 95,264 Views 104 Comments
Image: Sam Boal
Image: Sam Boal
THE GOVERNMENT HAS announced full Level 5 restrictions will come into force from midnight tonight and be in place until 31 January.
Since Christmas Eve, when bars and restaurants were required to close their doors, we have been getting to grips with tighter restrictions.
Now, even tougher measures are being implemented because of the rapid growth in virus case numbers and hospitalisations in recent days.
Teachers union calls for schools not to reopen next week due to grave concerns about Covid-19
High transmission rates and the new coronavirus strain are among the concerns cited
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The General Secretary of the INTO John Boyle has written to Education and Skills Minister Norma Foley setting out the need to delay the reopening of primary and special schools.
Mr Boyle expressed very serious concerns about the transmission risk of Covid-19 and the ability of schools to function as more staff and students need to self-isolate.
This is the letter sent to Minister Foley yesterday (December 29) ahead of today s Dáil discussions.
A meeting was scheduled today to allow the Cabinet to make a decision regarding a return to Level 5 restrictions without amendments.
Officials are currently discussing whether Ireland will return to March-like restrictions as cases of Covid-19 continue to rise. It is expected that the country will return to these measures.
Yesterday the Department of Health reported 1,546 new cases of coronavirus, the highest ever daily figure in Ireland.
Currently, the country is operating under amended Level 5 restrictions, which has allowed for the opening of non-essential retail and home visits from one other household.
Full Level 5 restrictions would shut all non-essential retail and ban household visits entirely. It would also lead to a restriction on travel outside of a designated radius.