Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Shutterstock

Teachers' union says 'significant number' of school staff contracted Covid in recent weeks

A survey found 605 staff across 877 schools tested positive for the virus recently.

LAST UPDATE | 22 Nov 2021

THE IRISH NATIONAL Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has said a significant number of school staff contracted Covid-19 in recent weeks.

A recent survey conducted by the union found 605 staff across 877 schools were reported to have tested positive for the virus.

The survey, which relates from the period from 1 November to 16 November, found that of a total of 231,912 pupils in the responding schools, 3,726 pupils were reported as testing positive for Covid-19.

In the schools responding to the survey, 3.62% of staff were reported as testing positive for Covid-19 during this period.

11,778 substitutable days were reported during the survey period, of which 31.36% were not covered.

Of those days where a substitute was available, 48.34% (5,693 days) were filled by a registered primary teacher, 10.66% (1,255 days) were filled by a registered teacher who is not a primary teacher and 7.34 % (865 days) were filled by a person who is not registered with the Teaching Council.

INTO General Secretary John Boyle said the snapshot survey shines a light on a primary education system that is “creaking at the seams”.

“Soaring transmission levels are an indictment of the premature removal of testing and contact tracing from our primary schools, and of the frustrating failure to move quickly to deploy antigen testing,” he said.

“The cessation of public health risk assessments following primary school outbreaks, and the resulting unavailability of weekly reports detailing infection levels from 27 September, has concealed the escalation of positive case numbers among pupils and staff in primary schools.

It simply cannot be a coincidence that the number of 5–12-year-old children contracting the virus has trebled since crucial public health supports were removed from the primary sector less than two months ago, abandoning teachers and principals to protect themselves and their unmasked, unvaccinated pupils from the impact of the highest wave of infection in their schools since the pandemic began.

He said the union’s view is that a recent statement from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) that sharing a classroom can be considered a high-risk exposure “must be taken seriously by the Irish government”.

“The government must do everything in its power to minimise the risk of exposure in every primary school classroom,” he said.

The union is calling for an immediate review of the Covid-19 response plans for primary and special schools to address the upsurge in infection levels.

“The fast-tracking of the booster vaccine programme and the provision of vaccines for children aged under 12 will be essential to support the primary education system in the coming months,” Boyle said.

He also called for the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) to publish another review of the minimum age for the wearing of face masks. 

“It is entirely appropriate that the union representing workers who teach the largest cohort of unvaccinated and un-masked individuals in over-crowded and often poorly ventilated settings be consulted by HIQA on the issue,” he said.

“The provision of more air quality monitors and air filtration systems to primary and special schools would greatly assist our schools.”

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland this morning, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that when schools returned in September, “the level of testing in that age group went very, very high with a huge increase in the number of people having PCR tests in the five to 12-year age group, and what actually happened was that test positivity fell significantly”.

“Even though there was a rise in the reported number of cases, what that actually was was an increase in what we call the case ascertainment. In other words, it was more likely that a case would be found,” the CMO said.

“It wasn’t a true increase in the underlying instance of the disease,” he said.

It reinforced other data that we have, and international experiences, that in general when schools are following all the basic public health measures that our school system has done really, really well to the credit of teachers unions, teachers, principals, sports management, parents, and obviously the children themselves, it helps to make those in relative terms low-risk situations compared to other circumstances like households.

He said children are “for the most part picking this infection up in the community and at home rather than necessarily transmitting it in a school”.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
81 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rear Admiral
    Favourite Rear Admiral
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 5:29 PM

    I’ll be sending back that “Huberman’s Haemerrhoid Cream” so

    309
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bazzle Bush
    Favourite Bazzle Bush
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 5:36 PM

    @Rear Admiral: No! That ones legit!

    104
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute iohanx
    Favourite iohanx
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 5:37 PM

    @Rear Admiral: does it work?

    37
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Shelly Levine
    Favourite Shelly Levine
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 5:49 PM

    @iohanx: I’m squeaky clean. Thanks Amy!

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Declan Tooher
    Favourite Declan Tooher
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 6:37 PM

    Unfortunately, this is not the first scam she has been involved in. All those awful tv shows that demand you to pay a licence fee spring to mind.

    232
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute MarkS
    Favourite MarkS
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 6:31 PM

    Nice to see she is branching out from the weekly Irish independent mouthpiece articles that nobody cares about.

    119
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute chinaski
    Favourite chinaski
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 1:41 AM

    @MarkS: You beat me to it. What is it with the indos obsession with her and him?

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Quigley
    Favourite David Quigley
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 6:35 AM

    @chinaski: The indo is a celebrity rag masquerading as a broadsheet

    31
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seriously stunned
    Favourite Seriously stunned
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 9:00 AM

    @David Quigley: yea we love the journal.ie woo hoooo

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute MarkS
    Favourite MarkS
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 9:30 AM

    @chinaski: she’s on some kind of weekly nonsense rotation with Vogue William’s, Amanda Brunker & Roz Purcell. Twink lost her place in the rotation last year unfortunately.

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McDonnell
    Favourite Brian McDonnell
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 5:36 PM

    Beauty cream warns users to beware of the sham that is…….

    74
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tyler Williams
    Favourite Tyler Williams
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 6:12 PM

    I’m not from these parts so I have absolutely no idea who she is. What is IFTA?

    52
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute TellingItAsItIs
    Favourite TellingItAsItIs
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 6:32 PM

    @Tyler Williams: She’s a very popular average actress and also wife to a famous ex rugby player called Brian O’Driscoll. She’s also pretty and could sell ice cream to the Eskimos.

    72
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David Grey
    Favourite David Grey
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 11:47 PM

    Tyler . Google

    11
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Margate
    Favourite Margate
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 12:34 AM

    @TellingItAsItIs: Very popular? Eh? Not with that many…she wings her way simply based on looks, fame, hubby etc, otherwise limited..

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rhona Byrne
    Favourite Rhona Byrne
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 8:20 AM

    @Tyler Williams: Irish Film and Television Awards

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute TellingItAsItIs
    Favourite TellingItAsItIs
    Report
    Aug 24th 2018, 5:52 PM

    @Margate: she’s also popular because she’s a very nice lady

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tony Maguire
    Favourite Tony Maguire
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 7:06 PM

    Ya can’t beat a bit of free advertising!!!

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute James O'Brien
    Favourite James O'Brien
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 11:53 PM

    This is product of RTE. Labeling people as influencers. Vogue Williams will be next or Brunker

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jaci Black
    Favourite Jaci Black
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 10:02 PM

    Stay away from the sun and eat healthily. Water is not your enemy.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Maggie O'Sullivan
    Favourite Maggie O'Sullivan
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 10:04 PM

    Total waste of money. Margarine does the same job as any of these expensive creams.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Colette Kearns
    Favourite Colette Kearns
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 9:48 PM

    Don’t waste your money on any of them, soap & water then some E45 cream ( 400 ml ) for under €10

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rob Cahill
    Favourite Rob Cahill
    Report
    Aug 23rd 2018, 9:31 AM

    She has fans?

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Derek Walsh Ⓥ
    Favourite Derek Walsh Ⓥ
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 8:41 PM

    What sort of idiot would be fooled by “anti-aging cream?”

    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ann Basquille Smith
    Favourite Ann Basquille Smith
    Report
    Aug 22nd 2018, 11:49 PM

    Who are accepting these adverts

    4
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds