New programme of Covid-19 testing for schools announced

A programme of regular coronavirus testing has been announced for schools in Northern Ireland.

In a joint statement, the departments of health and education said initially, all post-primary staff and older students in Years 12-14 in schools and in Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) centres will be included.

Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests will be used. Expansion of testing to other staff in primary and pre-school settings will be rolled out in later phases.

Speaking about the new programme, the Health Minister Robin Swann said:

"This testing is important as an additional measure alongside the range of existing safety measures in place to help ensure the safety of staff and pupils in schools. “Whilst the use of LFD tests is important as an additional measure, a negative LFD test result does not enable an individual to drop their guard and people should not change their behaviours. “My Department is continuing to work with partners in government and industry on further expansion of our programme of regular asymptomatic testing which, alongside our vaccination and contact tracing programmes, will help balance the scales in our favour of success in the battle against Covid-19.” Meanwhile the Education Minister Peter Weir said the announcement was very welcome news:

“The roll out of this testing programme will provide reassurance for pupils and teachers that the risk of large groups of exam year classes having to isolate during this important period, will be considerably reduced. “It has always been my preference that all pupils should be in the classroom to benefit from face to face teaching and I welcome the plan to roll out testing for Year 12-14 students as soon as practicable.”