Parents keeping kids out of school this week as Covid cases soar

Absenteeism rates in schools throughout the country are expected to rise this week — that's according to a recent report from The Irish Times.

The newspaper recently reported that the motivation for this development is due to fears among parents over rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, especially with Christmas just around the corner.

It added that some school principals have said they expect attendance to be down by about 25 per cent or more.

Primary and secondary schools are due to close this Wednesday, December 22, and reopen on Thursday, January 6.

One health expert, Professor Anthony Staines, said that schools should close this week and reopen later in the new year to suppress the number of Covid-19 cases in light of the Omicron variant.

Prof Staines, who is also head of health systems at Dublin City University, said it would be "insane" to reopen schools on Monday.

In addition, Séamus Mulconry, general secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, agreed that he expects attendance rates in schools to be reduced, citing the same reasons as Prof Staines.

A spokesman for the Department of Education has denied that such an event was likely to occur, explaining that the scheduling of school holiday periods would not change.

They added that there was "no evidence to suggest that extending school holidays has a public health rationale."

However, with the amount of visible disappointment and outcry over the recent restrictions that can be seen on social media, it is unclear whether the Dept's statement will be considered by many members of the public.