Four percent of children under the age of 18 tested positive for Covid-19 during the previous school year, according to an assessment of data by the HSE.
The epidemiological review found that the percentage of close contacts of a confirmed case that subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 was significantly lower in schools when compared to the outside population.
Over the course of the academic year, 44% of all schools nationally required a public health risk assessment and close contact testing.
Between August 2020 and July this year, testing of identified close contacts under the schools pathway was done at 1,737 schools.
Read more on rte.ie