Schools: 'Too many' children and staff without symptoms getting tested

Only children with symptoms should be tested, while close contacts of those who test positive should self-isolate, officials say

Too many children and school staff are getting tested for Covid-19 despite having no symptoms.

That is according to an email to schools from the Department of Education (DE).

The department said evidence from the Public Health Authority's (PHA) contact tracing service suggested too many children and staff without symptoms were getting tested.

Concerns have already been expressed about capacity in the testing system.

In an email accompanying revised guidance for schools, DE said school staff or pupils should only get a test when they were clearly symptomatic.

"PHA have asked us to emphasise to schools that pupils and staff must only be advised to seek a Covid-19 test when they are symptomatic of the virus - that is a new continuous cough, a fever or a new loss of taste and/or smell," said the department.

"Early evidence from the contact tracing service is that available testing capacity is being utilised to test many children and school staff who are showing no symptoms and in doing so make it more challenging for genuinely symptomatic individuals to access a test."

Guidance 'confusion'

The department also provided new guidance to schools on when pupils have to self-isolate if one of their classmates has Covid-19.

That comes after previous guidance issued last Thursday caused confusion for many principals by suggesting that class bubbles should be sent home if one pupil in the class had symptoms of the virus, such as a persistent cough.

There are concerns an increase in Covid tests linked to schools is putting pressure on the testing system

"In practical terms this would have meant that anytime a child got COVID-19 symptoms, for most primary schools and many post primary schools, the entire bubble would have been sent home," DE has now said.

"PHA has advised the correct position is that only when a positive case has been identified in a symptomatic child, young person or member of staff do schools need to consider self-isolating close contacts of that individual."

"Close contacts must stay in isolation for the full 14 day period."

"They should not return to school before the 14 day isolation period as they may still be incubating the virus - regardless of a lack of symptoms."

While many schools in Northern Ireland have sent staff or groups of pupils home to self-isolate after positive cases, some schools have closed entirely for a number of days.

On Monday, St Comgall's Primary in Bangor announced it was closing for 14 days after several cases of coronavirus were identified, although the school said on Tuesday it would reopen to most classes on Friday.