Schools shutdown: Plan for State exams being worked on

Contingency arrangement are being worked out in relation to the State education exams, Minister for Education Joe McHugh said.

He was speaking after it was announced on Thursday that all schools and colleges would close this evening until March 29th.

The closure of schools, colleges and childcare facilities are among a sweeping series of measures announced by the Government on Thursday to curb the spread of coronavirus.

It has also issued a “clear recommendation” at all indoor events involving 100 or more people should be cancelled.

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The Tánaiste Simon Coveney said thousands of lives in Ireland can be saved through a collective national response to the measures announced by the Government.

Mr Coveney said the measures were unprecedented in their scale and effect across society.

Further updates on travel advice in relation to at-risk areas is expected during the day, and new measures, as yet unspecified, are being introduced at airports for travellers coming into Ireland.

Mr Coveney said, however, there were no plans to shut down airports or close ferries.

“Never before has such drastic action been taken in face of a public health threat,” he told a press briefing in Government Buildings on Thursday.

The decisions were not being taken lightly but were based on the advice of the best public health experts, Mr Coveney said.

“The irony is that in order to pull together we are asking people to stay apart. The closures proposed will disrupt the everyday connectivity that makes us who we are.”

The Dáil is to sit next week to pass emergency legislation giving effect to the measures.

Although the Government is advising that indoor gatherings of more than 100 people should be cancelled, the Dáil is regarded as a workplace, as opposed to a mass gathering.

Asked whether pubs and restaurants were captured by the new limits on mass gatherings, Mr Coveney said it would be up to their owners to decide how to “accommodate these asks”.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan acknowledged the measures would be a challenge for the sector but he said some operators were already introducing social distancing measures.

With reports of consumers stockpiling goods and empty shelves in shops even as a press conference to announce the measures was underway, Minister for Business Heather Humphreys said this behaviour would "cause a problem".

She said she has been reassured by suppliers that there are sufficient supplies of essential items in the supply chain.

The days and weeks ahead will be difficult, Mr Coveney warned, but the Government cannot succeed on its own.

There was no cure, no vaccine and no immunity for the virus so the the most effective tool to slow down its transmission, he said.

The Government was acting to protect the most vulnerable in society, who were also the most precious, so the actions being taken were “absolutely necessary and justified,” he added.

The Government was asking people to continue to work, remotely where possible. Those who had to go to work should limit their contacts, he said. Mr Coveney acknowledge the measures were “a lot to take in”.

“I’m a father, a husband and a son too. I know it’s a lot to take in. I understand the concerns many households will have.”

The Government is to publish the advice received from the National Public Health Emergency Team shortly and individual Ministers are to hold briefings on the impact of the measures in their respective areas.

A special Cabinet meeting is also to take place this evening.

Mr Holohan said the measures were taken in the light of a significant increase in the number of cases, a number of ICU hospitalisation, one death, some clusters of cases, cases in hospital settings and evidence of community transmission.

However, the outbreak in Ireland was still at an early stage, he said. He urged employers to stagger work-times and break-times.

Restrictions are also set to be imposed for visitors to hospital, nursing homes and prisons, and spacing measures will be introduced in homeless shelters.