A MAJOR teachers' union says schoolchildren in Ireland shouldn't come to class if they have a sore throat, a blocked nose or even a headache.
Keeping the nation's schools open is one of the government's top priorities following the almighty disruption caused by the pandemic over the last year-and-a-half, but John Boyle, general secretary of the primary school teachers' union INTO is suggesting some rather extreme measures to ensure a safe reopening.
He revealed that the Department of Education's Covid-19 response plan had been tweaked so that anyone with "uncommon symptoms" of the virus will be urged to stay away from school.
"Children can have sore throats, headaches, runny or stuffy nose. They can be feeling sick or vomiting (or have) diarrhoea. Up until the summer children could go to school with those symptoms," Mr Boyle told RTÉ's This Week programme.
"You cannot now go if you have any of those uncommon symptoms or the common symptoms ( more usually associated with Covid-19)."
Mr Boyle stressed that this advice was extremely important, as teachers were desperate not to go back to remote learning, and therefore any risk of an outbreak should be nullified as quickly as possible.
Much has been made of the necessity for pupils to wear face masks on their return to school next week. While the government has insisted that masks won't be a requirement, there are many calling for the rule to be implemented.
While serious illness from Covid-19 is unlikely in children, recent data shows that as many as 46,000 cases in Ireland have been identified in individuals under the age of 18.
