Image: Martin McQuillan for Research Professional News
Face masks to be worn in classes but vaccination not required, government confirms
Researchers, staff and students will return to Irish campuses this month, despite the country having one of the highest Covid-19 rates in Europe, the government has decided.
Data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control at the end of August revealed that Ireland had the second highest rate of the disease in the European Economic Area, second only to Cyprus. But the Irish government is pressing ahead with its reopening plans for the education sector, on the basis that mass vaccination will protect the population against serious illness.
Ireland has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, with 85 per cent of the adult population now fully jabbed.
In a joint statement released on 3 August, the Irish Universities Association (IUA), the Technological Higher Education Association and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland said the reopening of campuses was based on three principles: that higher education is now deemed an essential service by the government, that there is an “overwhelming desire” for students and researchers to return to campus, and that the “vast majority” of adults have now been offered a vaccine.
The alliance said its plan, Implementing a Safe Return to Campus, will provide a “sector-wide commitment on reopening while recognising that each individual higher education institution will adapt mitigation measures to their own local context”.
The plan commits to “maximising and optimising the on-campus experience for all students” and says it will balance “the public health risks against the known pedagogical, student experience and mental health benefits” of the return.
Continued vigilance
Under the plan, there will be a requirement for face masks in shared indoor spaces, including laboratories, as well as an emphasis on hand and respiratory hygiene. There will also be a focus on “optimising” ventilation systems to minimise the risk of transmission. Large lecture theatres will be “actively managed”, either through setting a maximum class size or limiting the length of lectures.
The plan aims to ensure “rapid access to testing and vaccination, including on-site provision if practicable”. Four Irish universities are part of a rapid Covid testing pilot programme. On other campuses, vaccination will not be mandatory for students to return, but it will be required to sit indoors in canteens or bars—in line with national policy.
“We are looking forward to welcoming our students back to our campuses,” said Ciarán Ó Hógartaigh, chair of the IUA and president of the National University of Ireland Galway. “We are determined to put in place all the measures advised by public health to make the return to campus safe and sustainable for our students, our staff and for society. A key element of this determination is personal as well as institutional responsibility and we urge all our students to take up the offer of a vaccination in good time for September.”
The latest data show that 69 per cent of those in the 18-29 age group in Ireland were fully vaccinated by 2 September, compared with 82 per cent for the 25-49 cohort.