Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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1239. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to increase contact tracing for Covid-19; and if he has considered asking volunteers to carry out the process. [32751/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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1240. To ask the Minister for Health if he will categorise teachers as front-line workers for the purpose of Covid-19 testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32752/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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HSE Public Health Doctors recently met with education stakeholders including the teacher unions. The HSE acknowledged the incredible effort made in all school communities throughout the country to operate in a Covid-19 safe manner. The measures that are in place are robust, and the safety of staff and children is of paramount concern.

Evidence shows that those efforts have proven very successful. Clearly the increase of Covid-19 cases in the community does pose a challenge as there will be more cases in schools as a result, but it is important to note that schools are not amplification settings for cases of Covid-19. Testing data from schools is reassuring, with a positivity rate of 2.3% of close contacts across all school sectors.

The HSE is aiming to have processes strengthened by the time schools return after the midterm break. Support teams are being put in place across the HSE's Departments of Public Health with this in mind.

Although the transmission of COVID-19 in the school setting is widely discussed, the data has shown that there where an index case has been identified as associated with a school setting and public health testing is carried out thereafter, to date, there has been a low detected rate of this type of testing. At present the detected rate is at 2.9%. Post Primary is lower at 2%.

The HSE has worked intensively over the last number of months to put in place a comprehensive testing and tracing operation. Enhancements made to the test and trace system has resulted in improved turnaround times. Sufficient capacity now exists to ensure that testing of teachers is conducted in a timely fashion. The HSE's Departments of Public Health continue to conduct risk assessments in response to detected cases linked to schools. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the measures that are in place to ensure the safety of children and students and the evolving requirements around testing and tracing and the prioritisation criteria.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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1241. To ask the Minister for Health if he will carry out a review of contact tracing in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32753/20]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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1247. To ask the Minister for Health his plans for expert school public health teams to deal with outbreaks in a school setting. [32769/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1241 and 1247 together.

Following the return of students to primary schools, secondary schools and various after school services at the end of August there is now a demand for testing of groups of students where a detected case has been linked to a school setting. To cater for this new testing pathway both a working and steering group were set up to define a clear and concise process for schools testing. This group has developed a testing pathway, templates for data collection and communication materials with the Department of Education and Skills.

As of October 27th, 731 schools have had/are having some testing completed based on a Public Health Risk Assessment. From the 731 schools that had mass tests, an additional 531 detected cases have been identified over and above original cases. 17,603 students and teachers have been involved in mass testing.

HSE Public Health Doctors recently met with education stakeholders including the teacher unions. The HSE acknowledged the incredible effort made in all school communities throughout the country to operate in a Covid-19 safe manner. The measures that are in place are robust, and the safety of staff and children is of paramount concern.

Evidence shows that those efforts have proven very successful. Clearly the increase of Covid-19 cases in the community does pose a challenge as there will be more cases in schools as a result, but it is important to note that schools are not amplification settings for cases of Covid-19. Testing data from schools is reassuring, with a positivity rate of 2.3% of close contacts across all school sectors.

The rise in cases overall in the community and in the positivity rate has challenged the HSE and Public Health Departments considerably over the last weeks, and this has had an impact on response times in schools. The HSE is aiming to have processes strengthened by the time schools return after the midterm break. Support teams are being put in place across the HSE's Departments of Public Health with this in mind.