School Covid testing and tracing
Deputy Murphy urged the Government to restore contact tracing and proper testing in schools amid rising Covid cases. The Taoiseach rejected any suggestion that schools were to blame, stressed keeping children in school, and said antigen testing may have a role in specific settings.
There were 3,726 Covid-19 cases confirmed yesterday. This is the highest figure since January. Schools are on the front line of the fight against Covid-19 and they are not getting the support they need from the Government. Back in September, the Government decided to stop contact testing and tracing in schools. In this Chamber I described this as a hear no evil, see no evil policy and the Taoiseach said that was an unwarranted comment. Now we see the consequences of this policy. Will the Taoiseach reverse the mistaken decision and reintroduce proper testing and tracing in schools and will he also address the issue of the lack of ventilation and, in particular, the lack of filtration. While Australia and Germany are providing high efficiency particulate air, HEPA, filters for every single classroom, we still do not even have a CO2 monitor in every classroom. Will the Government provide classrooms with the HEPA filtration systems that they need in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19 so that we can keep our schools open and do so safely?
Comment on this
We need to be clear about this. The Deputy reported the figure of 3,726 cases and he almost, by juxtaposition, blames schools for this. This is an incredible presentation and it is not the case.
Comment on this
Look at five- to 12-year-olds. I am not saying that.
Comment on this
The issue is this. It is vital that children go to school and that their full range of development is catered for. That is the first priority and objective. What is the biggest issue facing children right now, when talking to public health people or to people in hospitals? I was in Clonmel on Friday and met the paediatrician, the director of nursing in the paediatric ward there. The biggest issue she has in admissions is respiratory syncytial virus, RSV. Non-Covid respiratory viruses are the biggest challenge facing children right now. The Chief Medical Officer said the same to me when I spoke to him prior to the weekend. We all need to be very clear on messaging.
Comment on this
I think that there will be a role, having spoken to the Chief Medical Officer, for antigen testing in specific areas, in schools and so on.
Comment on this
They need HEPA filters.