POST-PRIMARY pupils are to continue to wear face coverings in classrooms, according to new guidance issued by the Department of Education.
In a statement yesterday, the department said "it is appropriate that the current guidance on the use of face coverings in schools remains in place".
Pupils and teachers in post-primary schools are currently expected to wear coverings in classrooms, corridors and other communal areas.
The executive had agreed in August that it would review the requirement on October 8.
However, yesterday it said: "In reviewing this approach, advice was received from the Department of Health that as prevalence of Covid remains high, it is appropriate that the current guidance on the use of face coverings in schools remains in place.
"In line with this public health advice, the above guidance will remain unchanged. The position will be reviewed again at the end of November."
It comes as figures released yesterday reveal that the number of young people testing positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland has fallen.
The Office for National Statistics show that around one in 130 young people in the north were estimated to have had the virus in the week to October 2, down from one in 65 the previous week.
