Darver NS reopens after cluster of
The small rural school of Darver NS reopened on Monday after it closed due to a cluster of COVID-19 cases. Although neither the school or the HSE would confirm how many cases were involved, parents believe that it involved as many as 20 pupils and three teachers having to self-isolate due to confirmed cases or being close contacts.
Principal Bríd Kindlon said that ‘Since opening in September, the school has adhered to the DES return to school roadmap and NPHET guidelines.’
‘ The decision to close the school was made by the Department of Public Health, HSE North East,’ she continued, adding ‘ The school does not have access to numbers or details of confirmed positive cases within the school. This is confidential and GDPR sensitive information.’
‘We look forward to welcoming our children back so they can enjoy the run up to Christmas.’
Parents have voiced concern about the information which they received regarding ‘close contacts’, saying that they were told that siblings of children who were deemed as ‘close contacts’ could still go to school. This, they believed, led to the spread of COVID-19 within households and other schools.
They also expressed concerns about the inability to get accurate information as to how many cases were in the school.
One parent told The Argus that two siblings were deemed close contact yet the advice was that a third sibling who was in a different classroom could continue to go to school - this child subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 while the two that were close contacts tested negative.
‘ The testing was done very, very quickly and we had our results back in 24 hours. The contact tracing was brilliant but for us the big issue is what constitutes a close contact.’ she said. ‘ When you have young children they are all jumping on top of each other so if one is a close contact, they all are. It is very difficult to socially distance young children.’
‘We got a letter saying that siblings can still attend school which means that if they are at another school, they could be bringing the virus into different schools.’
As the family have a vulnerable relative, she said that they have decided that their children won’t be going back to school until mid-January.
The HSE issued a statement saying that it ‘cannot comment on individual cases or outbreaks of COVID-19 as to do so would breach our duty of confidentiality to the individuals and facilities concerned.’
However, it explained that ‘when a case of COVID-19 is identified which is linked to a school, Public Health professionals discuss the matter directly with the person, or family as appropriate, and ask them about their contacts. Public Health pro
fessionals will also discuss the matter directly with the school, undertaking a public health risk assessment. Recommended measures, including any exclusions of other pupils or staff members who may have been close contacts are made at this point. Responses and recommendations for each facility and for each case within the same facility may well differ, depending on the circumstances identified by Public Health.
‘ The HSE will have carried out a Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA). The only individuals who cannot attend school and need to restrict their movement and stay at home are those who have been identified as close contacts by Public Health. This may be a small number, for example a ‘pod’, or it could be a full class. However, if a pupil/student/staff member develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should self-isolate immediately which means they stay in their own room, and discuss the matter with their GP.’
‘Students/staff members who are close contacts need to restrict their movements, even though they have no symptoms. However, no other student/staff or family member are required to do so – unless they are also identified as a close contact.
‘When Covid-19 is circulating in the community, we can expect to discover some cases in school settings despite everyone’s best efforts. The best way of reducing the number of these cases is to reduce the level of community transmission around the country. If there is school transmission, PHRA will identify and put measures in place to limit transmission.’