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.