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The Taoiseach has confirmed that the closure of schools, childcare and the construction sector are under Government discussion amid soaring rates of Covid-19 infection.<\/p>\nThe Taoiseach has confirmed that the closure of schools, childcare and the construction sector are under Government discussion amid soaring rates of Covid-19 infection.<\/p>\n
Miche\u00e1l Martin told RT\u00c9 Radio 1\u2019s News at One he was in agreement with Dr Tony Holohan that there was an issue with more than one million people being \u201con the go\u201d travelling to schools each day.<\/p>\n
He said the Cabinet Covid sub-committee would examine the issue \u201cin greater detail\u201d this afternoon, with the potential closure of early childcare education and the construction sector also on the meeting\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin confirmed that the Government\u2019s proposal was to close schools until the end of the month, but said it was looking at special education measures for families that have children with special needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do know from the first lockdown that many families and many children with special needs regressed significantly and were under considerable strain, through the closure of special needs education, so we will look at that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach reiterated that schools remained \u201csafe\u201d but that the latest decision-making was based on the impact of the daily movement of a million people in the context of a very high level of disease in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CMO (Tony Holohan) and myself are in agreement that there is an issue in terms of having a million people on the go, which is essentially what opening schools means,\u201d Mr Martin said.<\/p>\n
He added that given what is happening elsewhere, \u201cone has to really measure the advisability of doing that\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said the rapid growth of community transmission rates was \u201cvery, very serious\u201d and that it had \u201cexceeded any expectation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to suppress the virus and that will mean a really significant reduction in the mobility of people in this country back to levels that we last saw in March,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to say to people: you\u2019ve got to stay at home over the next number of weeks bar essential purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to think beyond next week and the week after we have to think to the end of the term, we have to think of the Leaving Certificate of the examinations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no easy ways to implement crude, and very absolute, measures of this kind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said the Cabinet would formally decide on Wednesday what measures would be adopted.<\/p>\n
Asked what the benchmark for reopening schools would be, Mr Martin replied that the Government wanted to see the trajectory of the disease \u201cgoing in the opposite direction to the one that it is going in now\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to go back to the old phrase of flattening the curve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to turn this around and we will assess this again on the 30th of January.\u201d<\/p>\n