‘It’s safe to open our schools now’
Eminent medic declares Ireland meets all WHO criteria to allow pupils get back to their classes
IRELAND currently meets all the criteria necessary to reopen schools, according to Dr Gabriel Scally, author of the report into the CervicalCheck controversy.
The President of Public Health at the UK’s Royal Society of Medicine also says Ireland’s record in controlling the Covid-19 outbreak has been ‘exceptional’ in comparison with Britain.
Dr Scally is part of the independent Sage committee which recommended on Friday that schools in the UK should not reopen as the necessary controls are not in place.
Apart from Spain and Italy, most EU countries have either already gone back to school or will return in the next week.
A video conference of education ministers from around the EU heard this week that the reopening of schools in 22 European countries has not led to any significant increase in coronavirus infections among children, parents or staff.
However, there are currently no plans to reopen schools here until September at the earliest.
But Dr Scally told the Irish Mail on Sunday that the three criteria needed to reopen schools are in place here now.
‘The first thing the WHO stipulated is we needed to know a lot more about the diseases than when schools were closed and that’s the case,’ he said.
‘The second thing is, could the health system cope with a resurgence of cases?
‘The third thing necessary is that if there is an outbreak of the virus, that the authorities are in a position to take urgent action to close the schools and find the source through track and trace.
‘I’m satisfied that all those things are in place in Ireland but unfortunately they are not yet in the UK.’
He also said that when schools do eventually reopen in Ireland, a one-size-fits-all policy should not apply if and when a second wave occurs.
‘First of all, let’s be clear, a second wave of the virus is by no means assured,’ he said.
‘Yes, I think there will be flare-ups or localised outbreaks but that is not a “wave”. I don’t envisage that all schools would have to shut down again in that situation.
‘It could be a case of one school has to close or schools in one area close but it needn’t affect students in other parts of the country.’
Dr Scally added: ‘We need to know where the hotspots are so we can decide whether opening is even sensible, or whether to shut down schools if outbreaks recur.’
There is also increasing concern among health professionals about the mental health threat attached ato ongoing school closures, said Dr Scally, and lack of nutrition was also a real concern for the vulnerable children of less well-off families. ‘These are all things that have to be considered and unfortunately there are some children whose only proper meal of the day comes from school,’ he said.
‘Then you’re looking at these same children and they may not have the necessary equipment or back up to do home schooling and that’s something that has to be considered as well.’
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar raised concerns about schools’ late reopening in the Dáil this week when he said ‘it would reflect badly on Ireland’ if we were the last country in Europe to reopen schools.
But the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has ruled that the reopening of schools should only happen in the fifth phase of lockdown easing – not until September at least.
Parents’ representatives have already called for primary schools to be partially reopened in mid-June if it is safe to do so.
Áine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents’ Council Primary, said the decision to stay shut until September was made at a time when public health conditions were worse than they are now.
She called on public health authorities to keep official advice under constant review to consider whether schools could open to sixth-class students, for example, in mid-June.
‘Irish record is exceptional compared with UK’
‘A blanket policy may not be best approach’
‘We’re seeing what’s happening in other jurisdictions,’ said Ms Lynch. ‘We hope that rather than leaving it to phase five of the roadmap, the National Public Health Emergency Team continually reviews the advice to see if something can be done earlier.’
Ciara Fanning, president of the secondary students union ISSU, told the MoS that a blanket policy on reopening schools may not be the best approach. ‘Whatever policy is in place, it should take account of an individual school’s needs,’ she said. ‘If a school closes because of an outbreak in Dublin, that doesn’t mean that a school in Mayo has to close.’
This week the World Health Organisation special envoy on Covid-19 added his voice to those saying it’s now time to think about reopening schools in Ireland.
Dr David Nabarro said he remains hopeful a vaccine can be found but that, in the meantime, getting used to living with the virus is going to be the new normal.
‘You have to balance the risk,’ he added. ‘Children staying at home, missing school – that is going to have a long-term impact on their future ability to earn and to be strong in society.
‘At the same time, we do believe that children, although they can get the virus, are not anything like as important at spreading the virus as some other members of the population – so we have got to give it a try.’
In a statement, the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland Union (ASTI) said it ‘believes that face-to-face teacher-learner interaction is an essential element of a quality education experience for children and young people.’
‘It is clear that caution must be exercised in managing the reopening of second-level schools.
‘School buildings house large communities – up to 1,500 secondlevel students as well as teachers and other school staff.
‘The ASTI will be guided by the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team on these matters at all times.’ nicola.byrne@mailonsunday.ie