A fast tracking of Covid-19 tests for school children and staff to enable results within 24 to 48 hours is being considered.
The issue has been discussed by the National Public Health Emergency Team, but no decision has been confirmed yet.
A 'testing pathway' for outbreaks within the school community is being developed and is nearing completion.
The Health Service Executive's Schools Testing Steering Committee will give details on the system when it has been finalised.
The Department of Health has cautioned that not every child who is asked not to attend school because of symptoms they are displaying will be tested.
Public health officials have said a decision to test will be a matter for a child or a school worker's GP.
As schools reopen public health officials laid out what is likely to happen when a case of Covid-19 occurs in a school, and reiterated that cases of the virus in schools are inevitable.
They stressed that the best way to keep schools and children safe was to follow public health advice in the community.
"It is crucial that all staff, pupils and their families follow national public health advice, within and outside the school setting, and consider carefully their activities and risk exposures, to ensure the spread is minimised".
The response to confirmed cases or outbreaks in schools will be led and managed by the HSE.
Dr Abigail Collins said the approach would be different depending on the individual situation of each school.
She said as soon as a case was confirmed a risk assessment would be carried out to determine how the child or staff member had interacted with others and to determine who the close contacts might be.
As soon as a child is referred for a test then siblings and other household members will be regarded as suspect members and should be removed from class.
Cautioning against what they called the "rumour and misinformation" that is likely to arise around schools, Dr John Cuddihy said that the parents of any child who was considered to have been in contact with a confirmed case would be contacted directly by the HSE.
The Department of Health says that patient confidentiality will be maintained in all cases.
If a child or staff member is asked to leave school because of symptoms they may have, the HSE says a school should not inform other parents or staff members.
Other pupils or staff do not need to be removed from the class in this instance.
When a case is confirmed public health officials will liaise directly with the school to inform them of the case, to carry out a public health risk assessment, and to advise on action to be taken. such as full or partial school closure.
Core to this assessment will be the likelihood of onward transmission from the confirmed case.
The guidance states that if a school is not contacted by the HSE it will be because it has not been deemed necessary on public health grounds.
It states that when a case of Covid-19 has been confirmed "it will not be automatically assumed that a whole class will be deemed as close contacts."
However, Dr Collins said that if a school cannot enforce one metre social distancing in the classroom then "this would make it more likely that there would be a larger pool of close contacts should a case of Covid arise."
Many primary schools reopening this week and next are unable to enforce the one metre classroom social distancing that is advised for older children due to cramped conditions.
