Reopening schools ‘among safest things we can do’, says Taoiseach
Reopening schools is “among the safest things” that can be done in the next few months, the Taoiseach has said.
His comments came as the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) said children were not substantially contributing to the spread of Covid-19 in their households or in schools.
Hiqa published summaries investigating the international evidence on immunity and the spread of the virus by children.
Read our evidence summary on the potential for children to contribute to transmission of SARS-CoV-2. https://t.co/lMo8kZCQgB #COVIDー19
— HIQA (@HIQA) May 13, 2020
It said that, while evidence was limited, children were not significant contributors to the spread.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris spoke with Dr Mike Ryan of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday about the Hiqa report.
Speaking in Dublin, Mr Varadkar said Dr Ryan was of the view “that the emerging evidence is that among the safest things that we can do over the next couple of months, is to reopen our schools, to reopen our childcare facilities to allow children to return to education and return to normal life”.
Schools and childcare facilities have been closed since March but he hinted that schools could open ahead of September in light of the new evidence.
A message from @DrMikeRyan of the World Health Organisation after the Taoiseach, the Chief Medical Officer and myself met with him today. Worth a listen #Covid19 https://t.co/II4rLOdKbl
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 13, 2020
“I think it wouldn’t be a good reflection on us, as a society, for us to be the last people who are able to reopen our schools and reopen our childcare facilities,” he said.
“We need to make sure we do it safely and work with the education sector and the childcare sector to make sure that it’s possible, but it is encouraging that there is growing evidence that those who are at least risk from the virus are children, young people … they don’t appear to be super-spreaders, and I think that is very significant.”
Commenting on the report, Hiqa deputy chief executive Dr Mairin Ryan said: “One study suggests that, while there is high transmission of Covid-19 among adults aged 25 years or older, transmission is lower in younger people, particularly in those under 14 years of age.
“An Australian study that examined potential spread from 18 confirmed (nine students and nine staff) cases to over 800 close contacts in 15 different schools found that no teacher or staff member contracted Covid-19 from any of the initial school cases.
“One child from a primary school and one child from a high school may have contracted Covid-19 from the initial cases at their schools.”
