Schools aren’t the problem, so the question has to be why do they have to close again?
IT’S A fair assumption that extending the first natural break in the school year, the Halloween mid-term, was not in the thinking and planning that went into schools’ reopening just seven weeks ago.
The huge money – €576m in State funding committed to date – and effort by all involved in the safe return of 4,000 schools was intended to carry them through some of the most difficult days.
In contrast to the emergency response in the spring, the Government’s new Framework for Living with Covid-19 envisages that department stores and hairdressers could be shut again while schools would function normally.
That five-stage map introduces the idea of widespread school closures only when the country is deemed to be at highest level of risk, Level 5.
The country is at Level 3, but we know the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) would prefer us to be at Level 5. So, less than two months into the new term and we are experiencing difficult days.
There is now debate on whether adding another week to the end of the Halloween holiday would serve a public health purpose. The evidence tells us schools are not the problem, so any move to close them for a period would be because of wider considerations. Understandably, many parents will be asking how well it serves their purpose if they have to take time off, or return to working from home, in order to mind children and supervise distance learning.
On the other hand, the escalation of risk generally has teachers nervous. As of now, Nphet is not seeking any change in school opening arrangements. In light of the deteriorating situation generally, Nphet has “afforded careful consideration” to schools.
In recent days, the Department of Health has advised the Department of Education that “in recommending that schools remain open at the present time, even in the current trajectory of the disease, Nphet has considered the national experience of school reopening to date.”
As indicated in advance of schools’ reopening, Covid is more likely to be brought in from outside than to spread within a school. Social distancing, sanitisers, PPE and the enormous efforts of principals, teachers, SNAs and everyone else all play their part.
When a case is identified, it triggers a Public Health Risk Assessment which, so far, has led to mass testing in fewer than 300 schools.
All told, around 6,000 students and teachers have been tested. From almost 300 schools, there have been an additional 90 cases over and above original cases. This equates to a rate of 1.5pc, less than half of the incidence rate in testing in the wider community,
There has been no significant change in the proportion of weekly Covid-19 cases attributable to school-age children (4-18 years) since before schools reopened and now – 14.3pc and 14.1pc respectively.
Many cases of Covid-19 linked to schools have been found to have exposure to the disease from, say, a household or social setting. Similarly, where testing of close contacts of confirmed cases linked to the school has identified more cases, many of these are found to have had exposure to the disease outside of school.
According to the Department of Education, “there have been relatively few instances where transmission of Covid-19 within a school is strongly suspected by HSE Public Health”.
So schools are not the problem and, if that does not change, the question in any consideration of extending the mid-term break would be, how can be they be part of the solution?