Taoiseach defends Government’s handling of Covid-19 in schools

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has defended the Government’s handling of Covid-19 in schools, as children between the ages of five and 12 now account for one-fifth of all coronavirus cases.

The Government had been told “consistently” that schools were safe and the bulk of transmission was in the community, he said.

“We were told schools were [a] safe place for children in the context of the pandemic,” he said. “We were told the bulk of transmission was in the community.”

Mr Martin stressed that Covid-19 numbers went up among children during the mid-term break when they were off school.

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Schools were a “regulated environment” in comparison with those in the wider community, he said.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has continued to insist that the school environment is safe, Mr Martin added.

Mr Martin was speaking during an appearance on Virgin Media's The Tonight Show, during which he was also asked by presenter Claire Brock if he regretted not introducing mitigation measures such as masks or Hepa filters in schools earlier.

He responded: “We followed public health advice all the way on schools and education.”

He added: “Decisions were taken at the time in relation to contact tracing in relation to that. There are still concerns about masks for young children.”

The Government cannot afford to ignore public health advice in relation to children, he stated.

Mr Martin said it might be the new year before the first children aged between five and 11 will get their Covid-19 vaccines.

“We want to do it in a comprehensive way,” he said.