A doctor has urged students to follow the COVID-19 guidelines when celebrating their Leaving Cert results tonight, as 'we don't want to see a big surge in two weeks'.
Dr Maitiú Ó Tuathail says tonight is "obviously going to be a Leaving Cert celebration like no other".
Almost 60,000 students received their calculated grades this morning, with the average marks up 4.4% on last year's traditional exam.
Speaking to Andrea Gilligan on Lunchtime Live, Dr Ó Tuathail said it's vital the results celebrations stay within the current rules.
He said: "My heart bleeds for all these students - I distinctly remember my Leaving Cert celebration night. This is obviously going to be a Leaving Cert celebration like no other - it's going to be very difficult.
"The problem we have at the moment is we have a huge amount of clusters, and it's all related to house parties. This is potentially what might be happening the length and breadth of the country - house parties tonight.
"What I would plead with students to do... you can meet, but if you could stick to the guidelines that would be incredible. That means six people indoors from three different households."
The GP said the most important thing for students is to keep people like their parents and grandparents safe by sticking to the guidelines.
He said: "[Students] may be able to celebrate in maybe a few months' time or a year's time... but now is not the time to congregate.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, particularly in Dublin: what we don't want is to see a big surge in two weeks, which will be attributed and unfortunately blamed on Leaving Cert students."
Face shields
Dr Ó Tuathail addressed a number of other issues relating to schools and COVID-19 on the school today, including the topic of face shields.
The shields are in use in schools across the country, with many teachers wearing them in classrooms while communicating with their students.
Dr Ó Tuathail explained: "We've a huge amount of evidence for face masks - the evidence is very, very strong. When it comes to face shields, the evidence is much weaker.
"They're better than wearing nothing, but they're nowhere near as protective as wearing face masks."
However, he noted there are situations in schools in particular when shields need to be used by teachers - when a child needs to lip read, for example, or when it's difficult to hear if someone is wearing a mask.
He explained: "What we're seeing in classrooms is that every child is wearing a face covering or face mask, and the teacher is wearing a face shield - that's probably acceptable, as the vast, vast majority of people are wearing a face mask.
"But face shields don't [offer] the same level of protection as face masks - nowhere near it, to be honest."
