From tomorrow, the health protocol in force in primary schools will be lightened to no longer make the closure of a class automatic after the declaration of a positive student case for Covid-19.
- Children are small contaminators.
- Currently, 89 establishments are closed in France and more than 2,000 classes due to cases of children positive for Covid-19.
The government is relaxing its measures at school. From Tuesday, September 22, in primary and nursery schools, a pupil positive for Covid-19 will no longer automatically lead to the closure of the establishment. Only the latter will be isolated and will remain so for seven days. The rest of the class, teachers and classmates, will no longer be considered contact cases. For a class to be closed, three cases will be necessary.
89 establishments closed
This government decision is based on an opinion issued Thursday, September 17 by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP). “The risk of transmission exists mainly from adult to adult and from adult to child, but rarely from child to child or from child to adult.”, advances the HCSP. This assertion is based on the publication of studies which show that children are small contaminators. These results were highlighted in particular by research conducted by 27 pediatricians on 605 children under 15 in Île-de-France. “In 9 out of 10 cases, sick adults infect children, not the other way around”, observed Robert Cohen, pediatrician at the intercommunal hospital of Créteil and vice-president of the French Society of Pediatricians, in charge of the study.
Currently, 89 establishments and more than 2,000 classes are closed in France due to cases of children positive for Covid-19. Among them, 90% are primary and nursery schools, where students are under 11, do not wear masks and are the least contaminating. “This new protocol will allow fewer closed classes”, affirmed the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, to RTL. It will also allow educational continuity and relieve some parents who fear the closure of classes and establishments.
#Covid19 : “Nearly 2,000 classes are currently closed. The new protocol will make it possible to have fewer closed classes”, @jmblanquer in #RTLMatin with @VenturaAlba pic.twitter.com/t3iDbJWzjq
—RTL France (@RTLFrance) September 21, 2020
Unions at odds
This simplification of the protocol is not shared by everyone. Snalc, the national union of high schools and colleges, managed by teachers, believes that these measures are hasty. “Staff health is pushed into the background in primary schoolsreacted Jean-Rémi Girard, its president. By dint of rubbing shoulders, even if the children contaminate little, will they not risk contaminating the adults who are at school and they can contaminate many more people? The risk is there. Is it a measured risk, it’s far from certain.”
For the SnuiPP-FSU, the first union of primary school teachers, this decision is incomprehensible. “We are very concerned about this attitude of the ministry and the governmentestimated Guislaine David, president of the union, to European 1. There is a virus circulating and we act as if it does not circulate. In schools, we lighten the protocol. So we have the impression of walking on our heads. Because it happens that in some classes, when there is a positive case, if the rules of distancing have not been implemented, and since children under 11 do not wear masks, we can imagine that they are in constant contact.”
“We are very worried about this attitude of the ministry and the government”, declares on Europe 1 @guislainedavid spokesperson for @SNUipp_FSU https://t.co/vQyixIz1IP via @europe1
— SNUipp-FSU (@SNUipp_FSU) September 18, 2020
.
