Just 7 of 125 students at a County Mayo national school have attended classes this morning.
Claremorris Boys National School had planned to close early for Christmas, after recording at least 12 cases of Covid-19 among pupils since the mid-term break.
However despite the Department of Education telling the school it had to remain open, many parents have decided not to send their children to school.
Speaking earlier, Principal Mark Loftus believes closing the school would have been the safest course of action.
"We're looking about about 13% of the school that has been affected directly with a positive Covid diagnosis.
"We were observing this from inside the school. It was reaching a situation where we thought it's not enough with the delay involved with contact tracing and waiting to see what will happen next.
"We thought it was the most prudent and safest option for us."
