As schools prepare for the return of students from this week, the first of the CO2 monitors will also begin arriving for the new school year.
The introduction of the devices will help monitor the air quality in classrooms, at an overall cost of €4million.
Not every classroom will be issued with a monitor, with schools expected to distribute them where they’re needed most.
General Secretary of the Teacher’s Union of Ireland, Michael Gillespie says these monitors will be particularly helpful heading into the winter months.
Meanwhile, 4% of children under the age of 18 tested positive for Covid-19 during the previous school year.
A HSE report has found that four in ten schools required a public health risk assessment and close contact testing.
The vast majority of school outbreaks involved fewer than 10 cases and the report concluded schools should seek to re-open as a high priority.
The HSE’s Public Health Schools Response Lead Dr Abigail Collins says schools remain low-risk environments.
