A masked pupil in a school.

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LODI Franck / SIPA

Faced with the epidemic rebound and the appearance of the English variant of Covid-19, the government should announce new measures, this Thursday, to curb contagions.

But what about schools?

The executive ensures, for the moment, does not want to close schools as a "last resort".

"We think that the data on the penetration of the English mutant [of Covid-19] in schools are not clear enough to push us to close schools in France", said Wednesday on franceinfo Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, president of the Scientific Council.

Other ideas are circulating or seem to be on the table to limit the spread of the virus within establishments.

Close the canteens?

School catering remains the “black spot” since the pupils come together there, without a mask, to eat.

"This is the time of day when they can breathe and even if a distance between them is respected in certain places, there are necessarily exchanges", underlines Guislaine David, general secretary of Snuipp-FSU, the first primary union .

However, can we close the canteens?

In rural areas, it is impossible to ask students who live far away and depend on school transport to return home at noon.

"If we remove the canteen, some families will no longer send their children to school," also warns Agnès Le Brun, in charge of education issues at the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), who recalls her role "Social".

Some suggest replacing it temporarily with picnics that students take in their class, which would require more staff at lunchtime.

"If it is to increase the mixing in the classes, what is the point?

», Notes Philippe Vincent, general secretary of the first union of school leaders (SNPDEN).

Organize small groups

Nearly 70% of high schools have reduced their enrollment by introducing hybrid education, according to the latest count.

"If high schools seem to have found a certain balance, some large colleges could perhaps follow suit," says Philippe Vincent.

As for schools, the idea of ​​requisitioning premises and additional municipal staff in order to divide the workforce, which had been put forward at the end of August by Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, has remained a dead letter for the moment.

"In Paris, we have done an enormous job to identify the available premises and we are ready to recruit temporary staff but the ministry has not followed up on this proposal", regrets Patrick Bloche, deputy mayor, in charge of education.

Air more

"The issue of proper ventilation of classrooms remains unresolved," assures Sophie Vénétitay, of Snes-FSU, the first secondary school union.

In some schools, it is not possible to open the windows properly while in others, the students complain about the cold, she says.

“For more than a semester, we have been asking for the installation of CO2 sensors… Without success,” she laments.

Test more

"We must be able to detect cases very quickly and identify very quickly whether it is an English mutant or not and take a very rapid decision to close a class or even a college if necessary," Professor Delfraissy stressed on Wednesday.

"At school, we would need to test massively because we necessarily miss asymptomatic cases", also believes Guislaine David.

A million antigenic tests are "ready" to be used for staff, high school and college students, according to the ministry which mentioned "a rise in power from the beginning of January".

"For the moment, we do not see the color", criticizes Sophie Vénétitay.

Extend the winter holidays?

The hypothesis of an extension of the February holidays has been raised by some doctors to slow down the epidemic.

Sunday, Jean-Michel Blanquer assured that the idea was "not on the agenda".

In the current context, such a prospect seems "distant" to Hubert Salaün, spokesperson for the Federation of Parents of Students Peep: "Parents already need to know what will happen next week at school" .

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