Staff members were forced to close the doors of a primary school days after it was reopened after identifying the Kovid-19 patient as “close contacts”.

A text message sent to parents of children attending Melik National School in Iclow, the Irish Mirror found, revealed that it could not function openly without a permanent staff member.

The school said: “The HSE advised us that several staff members had been identified as close contacts in a case of Kovid 19.

“Based on that, they should be expelled from school. The school cannot be reopened without permanent staff members, so unfortunately the school will have to close soon.

“We apologize for closing the school, but we are obligated to comply with the HSE guidelines.”

Parents were contacted yesterday afternoon and said the school intends to close for a week and will reopen on September 9 unless otherwise advised.

More than 100 children attend the school, which is located in a small village near the Limerick border.

A local TD confirmed that they had spoken to a local parent who received the text message.

A former teacher at the school said: “It works very well with the principal and staff. I have full confidence that they did the right thing in accordance with the public health guidelines.”

“This is unfortunate for teachers and students, but I would say it will become a common feature in schools across the country when we live in Covid-19, and I hope there will be a series of class closures and school closures across the country,” she added.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 was forced to send his class home to a second Dublin primary school after a positive test was confirmed.

The Luken Community National School informed parents via email on Tuesday that there was a confirmed case and that a public health risk assessment had taken place following the advice of the medical health officer.

The second national school in the capital was forced to send the class home because of the killer virus.

The Holy Family National School in Ratnagiri confirmed to the Irish Mirror that the first case of Kovid-19 in Irish classrooms since it reopened last week has affected them.