No close contacts with Covid case in Cork school

Cork ETB, the patron of Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig, said no staff or students were deemed close contacts with the confirmed Covid-19 case at the school. Picture: Denis Minihane.

No students or staff members at a Cork secondary school with almost 1,400 students have been deemed ‘close contacts’ following a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the school.

A public health risk assessment carried out following a confirmed case of the virus at Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig has found that all students can continue to attend school. It is not clear whether the person with Covid-19 is a staff member or a student.

In a letter from the HSE seen by the Irish Examiner, parents were notified that no students at Coláiste Choilm have been deemed close contacts, and do not need to restrict their movements.

“If your child has not been identified as a close contact at this time, your child does not need a test for Covid-19, they can continue to attend school, and no further actions are required at this time,” the letter states.

Children should not be sent to school if they begin to develop Covid symptoms, which include fever, a cough, and a loss of taste or smell, the letter added.

The Department of Public Health HSE-South is monitoring the school situation closely. 

In a statement, Cork ETB, the school’s patron, confirmed that no staff members or students are required to restrict their movements or attend Covid-19 testing as they have not been deemed close contacts. 

“The school has, at all times, followed and implemented all Department of Education and Skills and HSE guidelines.” 

Fianna Fáil Cllr Colm Kelleher, who has a child attending the school, said he is satisfied that the school authorities are following all relevant public health guidelines. He is reassured by the fact that no child has been deemed to be a close contact of the confirmed case.

"As a public representative for the town, and as a parent of a pupil attending the school, I feel comfortable sending him back to school tomorrow," he said.

Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig is the first secondary school in Cork to be notified of a confirmed case. It comes in the wake of several cases in Cork primary schools.

Since schools reopened, more than 50 schools countrywide have been notified of confirmed cases. 

It comes as the Department of Health was notified of 357 new cases of Covid-19 on this evening, and three further deaths. It brings the total number of known cases here to 31,549. 

More than half - some 218 - of the cases were in Dublin, with a further 18 in Louth, and 12 in Waterford. Some nine were in Cork, and eight in Limerick and Kerry. 

Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, said the basic preventions against Covid remain the same. 

"Wash your hands regularly, physically distance from others including friends and family, wear a face covering, know the symptoms and what to do if you experience them," he said.