There’ll need to be a "very cautious" approach to reopening if we want to keep schools open, an expert has warned.
Professor Tomás Ryan says “we can’t have everything” when it comes to easing restrictions, and it's clear schools are contributing to coronavirus cases here.
It comes after NPHET said the full reopening of schools appears to be a factor in an increase in COVID-19 cases.
A further 617 new cases were reported yesterday, the highest daily figure in more than three weeks.
Coronavirus five-day moving average. Image: NewstalkNPHET’s Professor Philip Nolan said the rise may be linked to the return of first to fourth-year students to secondary school after Easter.
He noted there’d been an “increased detection in those aged 13 to 18-years-of-age” - with more teenagers being referred for testing if they have any symptoms.
However, he said schools remain a safe environment, and an increase in case numbers is "not confined" to teenagers.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Professor Ryan - Associate Professor in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College - said it’s “very clear” schools are contributing to COVID-19 cases increasing in Ireland.
He said: “There were the buds of a fourth wave before the school break - thankfully cases went down, and went down very well. This was a very positive thing.
“The unfortunate thing is that was closely linked to schools closing.”
Professor Ryan said most people want schools to be open, but everyone also hates restrictions.
He observed: “We’d like to have as normal a summer as possible. Having travel quarantine to keep out variants is improving, and that has been a step in the right direction.
“But we can’t have everything and still live in the real world.
"If we want to keep schools open and we want to prevent a wave of cases which results in lingering restrictions into the summer… then we need to be very cautious about how we open up, if at all, over the next few weeks.”
He said Ireland’s still in a ‘dangerous position’, as the virus could still spread rapidly among unvaccinated people.
The Government's due to announce the next phase of reopening plans next week.
Their focus is expected to be on the likes of non-essential retail, hairdressers, personal services and the remainder of the construction sector.
