Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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75. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if clarity will be provided to schools regarding communication of a positive Covid-19 case in a school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57313/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The approach to supporting schools to operate during Covid-19 has been to follow and implement public health advice. My Department continues to engage regularly with the Department of Health, HSE and public health experts regarding COVID-19.

The sharing of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in a school setting is carried out when a specific public health action is required as a follow up. To protected a child’s identity personal details of the child in question are not shared.

The Department of Health and the HSE, working in collaboration with my Department announced last week a programme in which antigen tests will be made available to children in a primary school pod, where a child in the pod is a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Parents and Guardians of a primary school child, who is a confirmed case of COVID-19 following a PCR test, are asked to inform their school’s principal in order to facilitate the antigen testing arrangements in the child’s pod.

The school principal will then inform the parents of other children in the pod of a confirmed case. As stated previously no personal details of the child will be shared. These parents will be provided with the option to receive free antigen tests for their child, which they will be able to order for delivery to their home.

It is not mandatory for children to participate in antigen testing. Children who are in a pod where a child has tested positive for Covid-19 can continue to attend school, whether they participate in antigen testing or not.

School principals will not be required to gather evidence of participation or of any antigen test results.

The information materials for parents has been shared with schools and arrangements have been publicised directly to parents.

Where a child is symptomatic of COVID-19, parents are still required to keep their child at home and to arrange a PCR test for their child. Public Health teams continue to support schools as required.