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The Cabinet has decided for the first time to require children over 9 years of age to wear face masks temporarily in certain public places for the first time.
Children 9 years and older will be advised to wear masks in certain indoor environments, including schools, shops, and public transportation, but they need to be reviewed in mid-February.
In schools, these measures apply to children in classes three and above.
Recommendations on wearing masks will now be sent to schools. A spokesperson said that schools will have the discretion to formulate a rule that students cannot go to school without wearing a mask.
"It is understood that the school will take practical ways to communicate the new measures to parents in the next one or two days and ensure that parents have the opportunity to provide masks for their children," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education.
Cabinet ministers met today to discuss the current situation of Covid-19 and consider the recommendations of the National Public Health Response Team (NPHET).
They agreed that parents should reduce indoor social activities for children 12 and under in the next two weeks.
In a speech to Congress this afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the government’s goal is to "welcome the Christmas holiday", readjust and review how it handles the next semester.
He said that NPHET shared a chart with the government showing Covid-19 cases among children aged 5 to 11 “over the roof”.
On his way into the cabinet this morning, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: “The analysis we saw last night showed that 9, 10 and 11-year-olds have a particularly high infection rate, so third-class masks are recommended.”
"The evidence we have shows that they [masks] are indeed very effective, for example in middle school, so we will discuss this issue this morning," Donnelly said.
As the incidence of the virus is still high, especially among younger people, NPHET recommended to the government last week that children 9 years and older should wear face masks.
So far, with a few exceptions, children under the age of 13 are exempt from the mask requirement; some people are required to wear masks in medical institutions, Covid-19 testing centers, and in high school.
The National Teacher Organization of Ireland (INTO) stated that the government must clearly communicate guidelines to schools.
"We acknowledge the recent measures taken by NPHET and NIAC and provide updated advice on several issues, including antigen testing, masks and vaccination plans, booster vaccines and children's vaccines," INTO said.
"We will study the draft guidance on any additional measures decided by the Cabinet, including masking, and work hard to ensure that our members are aware of any recommendations made by the government.
"Parents know their children best"
A government statement after the cabinet meeting outlined “parents know their children best and know the most important activities/experiences for them”.
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"Therefore, parents are required to prioritize their children's activities-minimize indoor community gatherings and indoor mixed family gatherings; reduce the risk of exposure to the virus by choosing outdoor activities instead of indoor activities; and reduce the number of children participating in any particular activity," it says.
The statement stated that the Covid-19 situation is “still uncertain and worrying, with increased uncertainty due to the potential impact of the Omicron variant”.
"The incidence of the virus is relatively stable, but it is still at a high level in all age groups, and continues to have a significant and sustained impact on all aspects of health services."
"This means we need to be vigilant and do everything we can to reduce the spread of Covid-19."
Last week, Tánaiste defended the government’s position that schools are safer for children than other environments. This message was repeated by ministers and health officials during the pandemic, even though Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn claimed health officials the day before "Never said the school is safe."
Varadka said in "RTÉ's Today" with Claire Byrne, "In a pandemic, no place is 100% apart from no contact with anyone." .
"But as far as the place is concerned, the school is safe," he said, adding that he believes that children are safer in school than in other people's homes or extracurricular activities.
He said that NPHET and HIQA have been studying whether other actions can be taken in schools-"for example, requiring elementary school students to wear masks."
"[That's] something we don't want to do so far, because it's difficult to get young children to do this, but it may be in their interest."
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last week for children aged 5 to 11.
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Compared with the elderly group, the dose will be lower and will be injected twice in the upper arm.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is now expected to make recommendations on whether the vaccine should be given to children in this age group in Ireland.
Other measures decided today include stricter travel restrictions to prevent the spread of Omicron variants.
Starting Friday, passengers entering Ireland will need to have a negative PCR test within the past 72 hours or a professional antigen test within the past 48 hours.
This measure applies to people arriving at ports and airports from overseas (including the UK).
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