A leading health expert says the virus outbreaks in school were to be expected.
It’s reported a primary school in County Clare has shut for at least a week because some staff members are considered close contacts of a case of Covid 19.
A second Dublin primary school confirmed a case of the virus yesterday and sent a number of pupils home, after another school in that county sent an entire class home the previous day as a precaution.
Speaking on KCLR Professor of Health Systems at DCU, Anthony Staines, said the focus should be on reducing communtiy transmission noting “We will get outbreaks in schools because we’ve a fairly high rate of transmission in the community and it’s up to all of us to reduce that rate of transmission as far as possible so we can keep our schools open and give our children the best opportunities but the guidance from the government is a little unclear essentially it says that each case will be dealt with on its own merits by local public health”.
Meanwhile, it’s being suggested that Covid-19 patients should be tested again four weeks after they display initial symptoms.
Researchers say it’s because the coronavirus responsible for the illness takes an average of 36 days to leave the body after first showing signs.
Scientists in Italy admit they don’t know how infectious a person is while they’re recovering.
It comes as 89 new cases of Covid 19 have been confirmed in the Republic to midnight Tuesday. (More on that here).
At least one of them in Kilkenny while Carlow’s has no more positive tests.
