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An announcement was made this morning by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, regarding the closure of schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings, for a period until 29th March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. This will take effect from 6:00pm this evening, Thursday 12th March. This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
All pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other, to help avoid the spread of Covid-19. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space between them. Parents and guardians are urged to support their children to maintain this approach.
In order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning all schools will be asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools are equipped to do so. Schools are asked to be conscious of students that may not have access to online facilities and to consider this actively in their response.
Schools are asked to prioritise supporting exam classes to continue to prepare for State examinations.
Physical classes in universities and higher education facilities will not be held during the closure. Institutions can make other arrangements for teaching and learning and other activities in line with their business continuity plans and contingency planning.
Caretaker Minister for Education and Skills Mr Joe McHugh TD stated:
“I am deeply conscious of the impact that school and education setting closures have on students, on families and on the wider community. This is a necessary and proportionate measure that we are taking as a pro-active measure to help contain the threat of Covid-19. This is the right decision at the right time. It is taken in the best interests of our children, our young people, our school and college communities and our wider society.
At this point in time the closure is planned for two weeks, from tomorrow until 29 March. The Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to that date will be communicated widely.
Pupils should take their books and learning materials home with them this evening.
This is a very challenging time for our pupils, our teachers, our students and our colleagues in further and higher education.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine – we all live in one another’s shadow. If there was ever a time for us to appreciate how closely we are connected, how much what we do matters to others, how much we rely on each other, this is it. This is a time where we all need to work together for the best possible outcome for our students. The support of everyone across the sector is vital, as we all strive to ensure that this threat is dealt with as effectively as possible.”
The Department of Education and Skills will remain open and will continue to provide supports to the education sector at this time.
The Department of Education and Skills has been liaising closely on a continual basis with the Department of Health in relation to Coronavirus/Covid-19 since early January. This will continue.
With 16 cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Northern Ireland, there are now 50 cases identified on the overall island of Ireland. This has been confirmed by the Department of Health, with a further 10 new cases having been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, bringing our total to 34.
We understand that five of these new cases are associated with travel from already identified, affected areas, with three of these being males residing in the south of the country.
In the east of the country, one male and one female have been confirmed, also associated with travel from a foreign affected area.
Three of those 10 new cases are also associated with close contact with already confirmed cases, same being a male and female in the west of Ireland and a female in the south of the country.
Two of the new cases (one female in the east and one male in the south) are understood to be occupied as healthcare workers.
Three further confirmed cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) have been identified in the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Health reports.
All three new cases identified are understood to be ‘close contact associated’ with an already Covid-19 confirmed case or cases and are identified only as two females in the south of the country (one being a healthcare worker), and a female located in the west of the country.
This brings to 24 the number of confirmed cases now in the 26 counties, while there exist another 12 positively identified cases in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, IT and Social Media users are being asked to ensure that elderly people, unable to access online Coronavirus information, are given all the appropriate advice and information needed.
To further ensure that elderly people gain the necessary required information they need; ‘ALONE’, latter an organisation who work with older people and those socially isolated e,g. homeless; living in poverty or crisis, have established an information helpline at Tel: 0818 222 024, from which advice can be readily sourced. The helpline is open from 8:00am to 8:00pm, for any older people who may have concerns or who are facing difficulties relating to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
Some 175 health care staff are now self-isolating at two Irish hospitals; one being Limerick [75 personnel] serving the people of North Tipperary and the other Cork [100 personnel].
This follows the news this evening that two more cases of Coronavirus [COVID-19], have been confirmed in the Irish Republic. This now brings to 21 in total the number of cases truly identified.
These two new cases reported involve a male in a hospital in the south of the country and a female in the east of the country, latter who has an underlying illness and is regarded as being seriously ill.
Both new cases are identified as community transmissions and are not cases which involved persons identified as returning recently from an at-risk holiday resource area.
A major increase in Covid-19 testing has now taken place, with over 1,000 cases having been tested to date.
A male patient at the Bon Secours private hospital in Cork is one of those who have tested positive for coronavirus, having received treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit for an unknown period of time.
Time now for our FG caretaker Irish government to ‘call a halt’ to any unnecessary public gatherings and promised political protest marches, in an effort to protect our population; especially those persons who are suffering from underlying illnesses and the more elderly in our communities.
Time also for Irish medical health officers at the Department of Health to stop attempting to guide a headstrong Government’s response to a medical and health crises.
The United Irish Societies of San Francisco have postponed the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, due to Coronavirus restrictions imposed by the City and County of San Francisco.
Mr Patrick Hayes, a resident of California and an annual visitor here, to his past roots in Loughmore, Thurles, Co.Tipperary reports:-
The 2020 San Francisco Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival has been postponed. The permits for the Parade and the Festival; both scheduled for Saturday, March 14th, 2020, were cancelled by the City and County of San Francisco on Friday, March 6th, 2020, as part of a series of measures designed to reduce the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
It is the understanding of the United Irish Societies of San Francisco (UISSF); latter which organizes the Parade and Festival each year, that all other large public gatherings in the city have also had their permits revoked.
A press release sent out by the San Francisco Department of Public Health stated “We expect these measures to be in place for an initial period of two weeks, and we will continuously assess their impact to determine if they need to be adjusted.”
Mr Liam Frost, President of the UISSF, said “While we understand the disappointment of thousands who participate in the Parade each year, and of the thousands who come to watch this great San Francisco tradition and who look forward to attending the Festival at Civic Center afterward, we want to stress that we wholeheartedly support the City and County of San Francisco, Mayor Breed, and the Department of Public Health in their efforts to keep us all safe. Good health is the most important thing any of us have, and we all hope and pray that the threat posed by Coronavirus will soon become a thing of the past.“
Mr Frost continued, “We encourage everyone, Irish or otherwise, to take good care of themselves and others and to follow the guidelines for personal care issued by the Department of Public Health. Please stay safe.”
Mr Frost went on to say “It is important for everyone to know that we have postponed this year’s parade, not cancelled it. The Parade committee of the UISSF will meet in the coming days to discuss possible ways forward. It is fully our intention to hold the Parade and Festival at some point later in the year. The exact date will be dependent on the success of efforts to contain and combat the Coronavirus, and we will be guided by the City & County of San Francisco in that decision.”
“In the meantime,” Mr Frost continued, “Please try and enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day in the best way you can. We are thankful for everyone involved in the effort to defeat Coronavirus on a local, national and global level. Our thoughts and prayers are for their success.”
Should we, here in Co. Tipperary and nationally, be banning large gatherings, as part of a series of measures designed to reduce the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)?
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed yesterday afternoon that there is currently no recommendation to cancel large gatherings, including St. Patrick’s Day parades.
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