As a school, we are constantly striving to keep our students and staff safe from the Covid 19 Virus.
We would like to sincerely thank parents, students and staff for the part that you are playing in helping us to do so. Parents have been exemplary in recognising possible symptoms and acting appropriately. We greatly appreciate that.
Thankfully, our on-line classes are working very well and allowing students who need to isolate the chance to attend school virtually.
REMINDERS:
Staff and students are not to attend school if they have been identified by the HSE as contact for a person with COVID-19 and should follow the HSE advice on restriction of movement.
Current Government and HSE advice states that all members of a household even if fully vaccinated must restrict their movements for 5 days and take 3 antigen tests within that period if a member of that household is covid positive.
If any member of a household displays symptoms they should contact their doctor to arrange a PCR test or book one online using the HSE website.
If a person is not vaccinated and is deemed to be a close contact of a positive case they must restrict their movements for 14 days and take a PCR test on day 0 and day 10. If no symptoms appear within the last 5 days they should then return to school.
Advice currently in effect is that household close contacts who are fully vaccinated and showing no symptoms should now restrict their movements until they have three negative antigen test results within five days.
Antigen tests can be done at any time of the day. Complete your second test two days after the first, and your third test two days after your second.
The HSE further advise Schools:
Remind all parents and staff to keep an eye on their health and to check for symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms of Covid-19 can include some or all of the following – fever (temperature of 38◦C or higher), cough, shortness of breath, any loss or change to the senses of smell or taste, headache, sore throat, or a runny nose. If any pupil or member of staff develops these symptoms they must self-isolate and contact their GP for advice regarding a COVID-19 test.
Even with high population uptake of COVID-19 vaccination, It is important to reinforce to your school community that all public health guidelines still need to be followed to protect the health of pupils and staff, these include:
At Leinster Senior College we are doing everything practical to avoid introduction of COVID-19 into the school. If the infection is not introduced it cannot spread:
Sanitise
Students should perform hand hygiene:
There is a Sanitising Station at the main entrance doors and at the entrance to each room.
There are sanitising ‘Wipes’ in each classroom. Each student should wipe down their desk space before each class and dispose of wipes in bin.
Symptoms:
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 it is important to know and recognize the symptoms. Some include:
Masks
Students must wear a mask – at all times (Please have a spare mask in your locker)
Wear mask properly!
TOILETS
Only two people are allowed in the toilets at any one time.
Isolate
If you have cold or flu symptoms isolate immediately and get a PCR test, not an antigen test.
The single most important thing you can do if you have symptoms is to self-isolate straight away and book a PCR test online or contact your GP. If you get a PCR test result which does not detect COVID-19, you should still isolate until 48 hours after your symptoms have settled. This can help you to avoid passing COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses on to your friends, family, or work colleagues.
Prioritise who you need to meet
This does not mean staying at home. It does not mean avoiding all contact with others. But the reality is that the more people you meet up with, the greater your risk of catching COVID-19. And remember, we are more likely to contract COVID-19 from someone we know – a friend, a work colleague, a teammate – than a stranger passing by in a shop or on the bus. We are asking everyone to reduce their contacts in whatever ways make most sense for them. If meeting with people from outside your household keep the group small; avoid crowded spaces and keep your distance from people not in your group.
Meet others outdoors and open windows when indoors
Try to meet up with other people outdoors. If indoors, keep your distance and avoid poorly ventilated spaces – virus particles can build up in these spaces, particularly if people are shouting, singing or coughing and this increases your risk of catching COVID-19. Open windows regularly to keep the air moving and blow the virus away.
Wear a mask
You should wear a mask whenever you are in crowded outdoor or indoor environments, including in shops, on public transport, in cinemas and theatres.
It is very important that face masks are worn properly – covering the area from nose to chin.
Use the right test and understand what the test result means
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you should isolate and book a PCR test online or contact your GP. You should NOT take an antigen test; a ‘negative’ antigen test result does not mean that you don’t have COVID-19 and you will still need to continue isolating and get a PCR test.
Unfortunately, our data suggests that the majority of people who are using antigen tests at present are symptomatic and that of those, the majority who get a ‘negative’ result are incorrectly assuming that this means they no longer have to self-isolate or get a PCR test – potentially placing many others at risk of COVID-19.
You should only consider using an antigen test if you have no symptoms of the disease and only as a further additional tool, along with all of the other public health measures, to effectively combat COVID-19. If this antigen test is ‘positive’ then you need to self-isolate and arrange a PCR test. If the antigen test is ‘negative’, you may still have the virus, and, therefore, you should continue to adhere to all other public health measures.