independent.ie- The use of antigen testing in schools will be implemented before Christmas, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said.
As Covid-19 cases have surged, rapid testing will be used for close contacts in schools.
Currently, students who are deemed close contacts are not currently being tested unless they have symptoms.
“What Minister Norma Foley and the Chief Medical Officer and I are looking at right now is the use of rapid testing for close contacts,” Minister Donnelly said on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week.
“There has been a consistent ask from the education partners that they would like to see that.
“The public health advice is clear that schools remain lower risk environments. The vast majority of infection in these age groups is happening in the household.
“However, we do have the ECDC advice (on testing close-contacts in schools) and we will be making a decision on it soon.”
