Schools will not be reopening next Monday after the Education Minister confirmed that the COVID-19 closures would be extended.

The Government is due to announce fresh measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus this afternoon.

The measures, recommended this morning by the National Public Health Emergency Team, are expected to include further restrictions on movement and the closure non-essential businesses.

Speaking on Galway Bay FM this morning, Education Minister Joe McHugh said confirmation on extending the school closures will come today or tomorrow.

He said the government is committed to holding the Junior and Leaving Cert examinations despite the outbreak.

“My commitment to the students and for the students who are maybe having their breakfast this morning and getting ready to study and really, really putting in such an effort; my commitment to them and the department’s commitment is, we want to make those exams happen.

“These young people have taken this new environment really positively, they are managing their own time, they are in their own lockdown environments, they are self-motivating themselves and they are managing an environment where they don’t have the peer-to-peer support of teachers.

“My message to the students is, we are going to work with you to make sure these exams happen but obviously we are going to be influenced and directed by the health experts.

“We don’t know where we are going to be in terms of the peak of this virus but I think we owe it to those young people who are studying and putting in the effort to see this through to try to have these exams this year.”

He said the Government is still working towards holding the exams on their planned dates.

“I believe if we have the will to do that, we can make it happen but obviously we will be directed as to where we will be at, at a given point in time.”

The Government is expected to announce the latest measures at 3pm this afternoon.