Written answers
Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Department of Education and Skills
Covid-19 Pandemic
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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149. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school should advise a pod of students to self-isolate and stay home in the situation of a confirmed Covid-19 case in a class of students; if not, if such advice should be issued to the entire class; and the factors on which such advice is dependent. [28429/20]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the HSE have published guidance for managing potential cases of COVID-19 in educational settings, which includes the testing strategy within an educational facility ‘Schools Pathway for COVID-19, the Public Health approach’:
This guidance provides that the HSE Department of Public Health will liaise directly with schools regarding any actions to be taken following a Public Health Risk Assessment. In practice, this involves the HSE Department of Public Health liaising directly with the designated contact, usually the school principal of the public health instructions. The risk assessment includes HSE advice and guidance on communication to pupils and staff in the event of a confirmed case in the school.
My Department has also recently published detailed FAQs for school principals in relation to the COVID-19 Testing Pathway for school communities. These FAQs will greatly assist principals to understand and manage situations as they arise in their schools and they include HSE contact details, including for out of hours for any queries that the FAQs do not address.
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