Covid-19: Too early to say if schools may have to close
It is still too early to say if schools and third level institutions face closure as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as a case has yet to be confirmed here.
Any such measures would be proposed by the National Public Health Emergency Team currently tasked with monitoring the status of the virus here, a Department of Education spokesman confirmed.
The Department also declined to give an exact figure on the number of schools or students that have recently travelled to the worst affected areas of Italy.
Updated guidelines on Covid-19 issued today include the latest affected regions in northern Italy, which are Lombardy, Veneto Emilia-Romagna, and Piedmont.
Over the midterm break, a number of secondary school students went abroad on school ski trips in these areas.
This includes two secondary schools in Cork city, who have advised parents to contact their GP if their child feels unwell or has symptoms including a cough, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, or a fever.
Three schools in Waterford, as well as three schools in Northern Ireland, a school in Donegal, and one in Dublin, have also seen students return from ski trips in recent days.
It is understood that any of these students who are now feeling unwell have been advised by the HSE to present for screening in their local areas.
It is also understood that it is highly unlikely the students have contracted the virus.
Pre-schools, schools, and third-level institutions have been asked to follow the updated guidelines issued by the HSE and the Department of Education.
Anyone who has been to affected regions in the last 14 days and has a cough, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, or fever should self-isolate and phone their GP immediately.
Meanwhile, a message circulating on social media claiming that student accommodation in Cork city is on lockdown due to an outbreak of Covid-19 has been confirmed as a hoax.
Messages circulated on Snapchat claiming that students living in Parchment Square were to be placed in isolation.
