Updated Test Guidelines Released –

The head of the main teachers union said a revised textbook for schoolsCovid-19 is being welcomed against the backdrop of a consistently high transmission rate From the “pessimism” of school leaders.

According to the updated textbook, S. School administrators should require all students in a class with multiple cases of COVID to take a lateral flow test.

The new guideline, which applies to elementary and elementary school students, also states that principals should not contact the Public Health Agency (PHA) before offering “extended testing.”

In a joint letter to school principals, the Education Authority (EA) and the PHA said the Omicron variant “has led to a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland and is now affecting the entire community, including schools”.

However, evidence suggests that Omicron, although more contagious than previous variants, is generally less severe in its effects, reducing the risk of serious illness and hospitalization.

“As with delta, the omicron variant is also presented in the vast majority of children as a mild, self-absorbed disease,” he added.

A letter to the PHA states: “Given the higher community awareness we are seeing, we would expect to see more cases associated with the school or community, and this does not necessarily reflect the awareness in the classroom or school.”

The PHA letter also states that Omicron is expected to reach its peak in the coming weeks and that the school’s guidelines will continue to be revised in mid-February.

Many schools in Northern Ireland have had to bring back groups for several years due to distance learning stress as they struggle to find replacement teachers when staff are away.

But Dr Graham Gault, Director of NAHT Northern Ireland, said the perception of many school leaders is that they are now left to fend for themselves.

As official statistics show 4,485 children and 488 school staff tested positive for coronavirus in the week ending Jan. 16 (2,749 children and 126 staff last week), school officials can forgive, Dr. Gault said. A revised guide to sarcasm this morning.

“In general, mitigation measures in schools have now been reduced to hand washing, opening windows and using face masks if necessary.

“While the rehabilitation of union contacts has resumed, any attempt to manage the potential spread of transfer in school communities has disappeared, except for the name, to the point where many channels for ordering groups have also disappeared. School leaders can fill out a form to report problems to EA.

“It really is like this? The perception of many school leaders is that they are now left to fend for themselves, making very difficult decisions with very dire consequences, based on their best judgment.

Dr. added.

Previously, all school staff and after-school students were advised to take lateral flow tests twice a week.

In the updated EA and PHA textbook, elementary school students should also be required to take a lateral flow test at home if they are in a classroom where there are few positive cases and are asymptomatic.

If the test is negative and the child has no symptoms, they can go back to school, but if they are positive, isolation and the positive case should be considered.

“Only children and young people who test positive for coronavirus and those who show symptoms and are awaiting test results should be isolated from the school environment,” the updated guide says.

Identification of “high-risk close contacts” will continue to be the work of the Department of Public Health.