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LAST UPDATE | 28 Oct 2021
TÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has said antigen tests may be rolled out in schools to test close contact of pupils.
Varadkar said that rapid tests could be given to children in a school pod where there has been a confirmed case.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn said that NPHET is analysing the Covid-19 incidence in children aged 5-12, which is currently the age group with the highest incidence of Covid-19.
Speaking in Mullingar, Varadkar said it is not a surprise to see that level of infection in that age group.
He said the government anticipates offering the vaccine to primary school children in the next few months.
“One of the things that NPHET is going to give consideration to now is whether we need to look again at the issue of contact tracing because if somebody is a close contact of somebody who has Covid and they’re not in school they will be offered a PCR test if they’re positive and an antigen test if they’re not,” he said.
“And it may be the case that we might have to apply that to schools as well, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean every child in the class being tested, but it might mean kids in a pod for example.
“So if one kid gets infected then it might make sense to test all the kids in the pod as well using rapid test,” he said.
Varadkar said he does not anticipate the closure of schools or extending the mid-term break.
He said they did not want to go back to a scenario where children were missing out on ten days school due to Covid-19 outbreaks.
His comments come as the Taoiseach said the government is considering rolling out rapid antigen test kits more generally.
From today, close contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 case who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic are to receive a box of antigen tests from today.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced this morning that the HSE system for sending antigen tests to close contacts has gone live, and that from today people will be sent boxes of five rapid tests in the post.
Speaking in UCD today, Micheál Martin said: “We are now dealing close contacts as of today.
“We should develop a culture of self-testing and that would be regular and that would be something that people would do in the right circumstances, with the right advice.
“There will be a communications campaign around the proper use of antigen tests because the expert review group did ascertain there is a need for proper advice for the utilisation of such tests as a supplement to PCR.”
He said that antigen testing will be a “further weapon” in the Government’s armoury to deal with the current wave of Covid.
The free antigen tests are available to anyone aged 13 and over.
Speaking on Newstalk this morning, he said:
“We’re going to start sending them out today. We expect households to start getting them tomorrow.”
All close contacts will get a text message which states that if not fully vaccinated and / or symptomatic they will be referred for a PCR test and if fully vaccinated and asymptomatic they will be sent antigen tests to do at home.
The text message will be followed up by a call from the contact tracers who will go through their vaccination history, symptoms and do the referral as appropriate for either PCR or antigen testing.
The contact tracer will take address details and antigen tests will be delivered by An Post in the regular post.
Close contacts who fall into the category for antigen testing will receive a box of five antigen tests and will be asked to do three tests – the first test on the day they receive their test kit, the second test two days later and the third test two days after that.
If antigen tests are positive we are requesting close contacts book a PCR test – as part of that booking process they will be asked to tick that they had a positive antigen result. If a close contact develops symptoms while they are in the process of doing antigen testing they need to self-isolate and book a PCR test.
Those whose antigen tests are negative are also asked to report their negative results via the HSE website.
Separately, the Taoiseach was asked about comments made by Dr Ronan Glynn yesterday evening, where he said that parents should consider if their children need to be part of every activity.
“We have received no advice in terms of children not playing outdoor sports or being engaged in outdoor activity,” Martin added.
“I think one of the dangers of the next phase is, because of the nature of our weather, that you’re going to get far more indoor activity, which can be a factor in the spread.
“I think the more outdoor activities that we can continue with, the better.
“I would be concerned also about mental well being of children. That’s very important.
“I met with Pieta House and different organisations, they’ve always articulated to us the concern around anxiety levels.”
Brilliant, will they have the old Guinness ad? The one with the oul’ lads sittin out on the Blaskets or the Arans all depressed in a pub with no beer ’til the oul’ dog hears something only he can hear maybe the creak of oars and runs off down the beach and one of the oul boys says “Tá sí ag teacht!” And they all go shkitterin’ an’ shlidin’ down the shtony shingle towards the curragh landing with the kegs of nectar. That’s the way I remember it as a child. Pure art.
@ John o’Driscoll..Harp add…”Sally O’Brien and the way she might look at ya”..or you could fry an egg on the stones that’s if you had an egg..
@John O’Driscoll: I loved the guinness ad with the surfing and saxophone/ guitar solos.
No Harp or Guinness ads that I could see boys, some gas other ones though McArdles Tradition Janey lads up ladders spinning sugain ropes into thatch while other lads in V-necks swamp pints and chat up I dunno could be Twink aged twenty in the bar below the thatch must watch a few more you never know the memories they could evoke.
@Honeybadger197: a real classic.
Great idea. I’ll look forward to showing these to my nan.
The prices haven’t changed much in penneys.
@Dave Thomas
I shouldn’t think the conditions for the people making the products have changed much either.
The ads that stuck with me as a teenager in the late 70s were for the agricultural vet products for the likes of treating sarcoptic mange mites, mastitis, worms etc., all complete with pictures of the little critters, that rte would always, without fail, air at dinnertime. Still didn’t stop me tucking into the meat and veg :)
@molly coddled: triple A golden maverick
@jane: thanks Jane, couldn’t for the life of me remember the name – or maybe it was because of the PTSD caused by watching it daily….hard to handle that kinda thing as a city girl injected into rural Ireland.
@molly coddled: What I recall was “Spread Net-Niterate 10:10:20″”Douse your flock with…?” and the timeless phrase that is so useful in all sorts of situations..”STAMP OUT SCOUR”
@molly coddled: Chenow unction- a quare name but great stuff!
@DeFonz: 40+ years later – still have no effin idea what scour is
@molly coddled:
Try 15 pints and a tandoori before bedtime tonight and you will have a fair idea tomorrow.
I think I’m going back to the things I learned so well
In my youth :)
What an ad. They don’t pull on the heartstrings like that anymore
The money is good, and the sunshine is free, but what i’d give for a drop of Harp and Sally O’Brien amd the way she might look at ya.
@gregory: Or as we called her, crossed eye Sally…
Not having much luck getting on the ifi player all evening
@Trevor Beale: In the meantime… http://www.ad-review.co.uk/
Them water and farm safety ads used scare the life out of me as a child.
@Bairéid Rísteard: wheres granddad, seriously.
Where’s “Bearny and Beany” now..
@sparky: They never married.
@Paraic McDonagh: They’re has beans.
@sparky: Blackfly killed them.
This is way to start the day
To start the day
The Flavinans way
When there is a burrrh in the morning
Pop on the porridge
pop on the Flavinans
@Brendan Mason: Flahavans
Did you ever see “Rashomon” by Kurosawa? Or read more than one witness report to the same road accident?
I know it’s nothing to do with ads but my memory of waking up each morning waiting to go to school and hearing Terry Wogan is priceless
If you want to be pedantic Jess Kelly it’s actually Flahavan’s :-)
It’ll be refreshing to see, the cigarette adds.
@Stephen: “cool as a mountain steam … thats Consulate”
@DeFonz: Maverick drench was another one ad used cowboys in a saloon (buffers from the Midlands)
Any adds with Jimmy Saville?
@George McCarthy: did six paedophiles agree with you?
@George McCarthy: funnily enough bbc 4 show old totps and i haven’t seen ‘now then,now then’ on any if them so far. I wonder if he’s been airbrushed out of bbc history.
@George McCarthy: Bodyform for you lol.
@John Quill: they have removed all of the TOTP with jimmy Saville in them from their repeats. It’s a bit sad really because a lot of great music been missed because of that sc***ag. They should just show them episodes minus him
There’s one I described to people before that I quoted a few times and got strange looks. I’m starting to think I dreamt it because I can’t find it anywhere.
It’s for Calvita cheese (pretty sure slices).
Narrator: Calcium is good for you and [does a bunch of stuff]. A normal cheese slice has this much calcium.
{Skater kid of about 8 years old pulls one tennis ball out of his pocket to illustrate}
Narrator: But a calvita cheese slice has this much calcium
{Kid pulls out second tennis ball}
Narrator: And what’s calcium good for, Malcolm?
Malcolm: Shoes? (in northern accent)
Narrator: Not quite
Malcolm: Hardressers?
Anyone? Anyone at all?!
@Tony Canning: sounds familiar kinda –
Makes me think of that one ‘dem bones dem bones need calcium’ and that’s a natural law
I actually thought when I was 7 that if I ate ‘Ready Brek’ I’d glow – just like the kid in the ad. So did my brother, we begged our mother to buy it. We didn’t glow.
Might have a look at the oulde Christmas adverts?
should’ve realised that a mention from da journa would kill the servers
terrible response times and server errors
were the rds and web summit involved?
Anybody remember the plan Cadbury ad,
Little boys, dreaming dreams,
Making plans, scheming schemes,
What’s he going to be,
Say twenty years from now
An astronaut, a scientist.. Lalala
“Did you put the cat out?”
@Pat Finnegan: Bord Na Mona or the fire service lol.
Bandwidth exceeded! Guess they need more Internet
Myra, the thongs, the thongs!
Love to see the Dept of Defence recruitment adverts and the Beethoven sound track with it
Great will watch some over the weekend
Ive better things to be doing with my time than watching adds new or old
@Sandra Clifford: 1985 Levi’s Launderette Advert with Dinny Byrne?
1985 Levi’s Launderette Advert with Dinny Byrne?
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