The rapid spread of the new coronavirus has increased the number of children infected.
In Tokyo, it was confirmed on the 23rd that 2,447 new people were infected with the new coronavirus.
The number decreased by 515 from Monday a week ago, but the average for 7 days until the 23rd was 4659.3, an increase of 109.0% of the previous week.
By age group, there are a total of 413 people under the age of 10 and teens.
About 1 in 6 people are under teenagers.
Fully closed nursery school Approximately four times as much as one month ago
The impact of the spread of infection to children is also spreading in childcare settings.
As of 19th of this month, the number of nursery schools that were completely closed due to the infection of children and staff by the new coronavirus has risen to 165 in 10 prefectures, which is about four times the number one month ago. I found it in the summary of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's compilation of reports from municipalities nationwide, nursery schools and children's institutes that were completely closed due to infection of children and staff in the facility were 165 in 10 prefectures as of 19th of this month. I'm up to the place.
This is about 1.5 times more than 108 places as of 5th of this month two weeks ago, and about 4 times more than 42 places as of 21st of last month a month ago.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to call for measures such as early identification of infection by distributing a simple kit for antigen testing to nursery schools, saying that there is a possibility that the number of nursery school closures will increase as the infection continues to spread rapidly. increase.
Increasing childhood infections Under 20 years of age about 6 times more in a month
According to the preliminary figures of "Domestic outbreak trends of new coronavirus infection" released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the number of people under the age of 20 among those confirmed to be infected nationwide in the week until August 17 is 2. There are 2,960 people.
This is more than six times the number of 3,450 people in the week until July 20, about a month ago.
As the new semester begins, some elementary and junior high schools and high schools in each region have decided to extend their summer vacation or temporarily close their school.
New semester starts while taking infection control measures Sapporo
In Sapporo City, which is a target area for priority measures such as prevention of spread, the summer vacation of municipal junior high schools has ended, and the second semester began on the 23rd.
Of these, at Nakajima Junior High School in Chuo Ward, the students went to school with a check sheet to record whether they had a fever, etc., and after receiving a check at the entrance to see if there were any health problems, they entered the school building.
At this school, due to the infection situation, we decided to postpone the accommodation study and school trip scheduled for the first semester to September, but at the opening ceremony on the 23rd, we have to postpone it to October or later. Was told.
In addition, as an infection control measure, ▽ thorough silent meals at the time of lunch, ▽ club activities should be closed on either Saturday or Sunday, and the teacher should ▽ call out to check the physical condition of the students in each class. I am doing it.
Shinna Fukui, a second-year student, said, "I'm very sad that the event has been postponed more and more. I want to spend a lot of time washing my hands for myself and the people around me."
Principal Toshiyuki Takahashi said, "The students are disappointed when I tell them that the event will be postponed, and I am also disappointed. I will take thorough infection control measures to protect the lives of my children and not stop learning." Was there.
Summer vacation 1 week extension Gifu teaching materials to children's homes
Hashima City, Gifu Prefecture, which was the earliest in Gifu Prefecture and was scheduled to start elementary and junior high school on the 23rd, decided to extend the summer vacation in response to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
At some elementary schools, teachers hurriedly prepared prints of home study and delivered them to children.
Municipal elementary and junior high schools in Hashima City, Gifu Prefecture, have a two-semester system, and the second half of the first semester was scheduled to begin on the 23rd. I decided to extend it for a week.
Of these, at Takehana Elementary School, on the morning of the 23rd, teachers hurriedly put a print for home study and a card to record their physical condition in an envelope and delivered it to the children's house.
The prints are written in Japanese, math, English, and issues related to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and are thrown into the post without meeting in person to avoid the risk of infection, and the teacher calls all the children and is not worried. I'm going to listen.
Principal Hiroshi Toyoshima of Takehana Elementary School said, "I think the new semester is late and the children are worried, but I want them to be relieved because they will support me. I want them to set their own goals and spend the week meaningfully."
In Gifu prefecture, other local governments are also considering decentralized school attendance and online classes.
Preparing for online classes in high school
At a high school in Gifu City, where classes are held online after the summer vacation, preparations are underway for class distribution.
Gifu Prefecture says that online classes will be the basis for the end of summer vacation in order to reduce the chances of students going to school all at once at a prefectural high school.
At the prefectural Kano High School in Gifu City, the class was scheduled to start on the 23rd, but we changed the schedule and decided to start online from the 26th of this month, and on the 23rd, the teachers had a meeting for the delivery of the class. rice field.
At Kano High School, last year's online lessons only delivered recorded video, but this time we will change to a method that allows two-way communication in real time at the request of students.
At the meeting on the 23rd, in addition to technical issues such as how to deal with problems with communication equipment, opinions were also given on how to proceed with sharp lessons so that students would not get bored.
Vice-principal Akinobu Matsuno of Kano High School said, "There is a high possibility that classes will be one-sided online, so I would like to avoid that as much as possible."
Emergency meeting with principals of elementary and junior high schools and representatives of medical associations Saitama
In Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, a new semester of classes will begin on the 25th at 18 municipal elementary and junior high schools.
As the infection continues to spread rapidly, there is a risk that children will be infected at school, so about 30 people, including the principals of elementary and junior high schools and representatives of local medical associations, participated in an online emergency response meeting. rice field.
At the meeting, we decided to shorten the class only in the morning for the whole month and leave school after lunch, and confirmed that we will consider it from next month onwards.
We also agreed to create a unified standard for closing classes in case an infected child or faculty member becomes infected so that there will be no variation in the response.
In Toda City, the work of the public health center is tight, so if an infected person appears in a child or faculty member, each school will take measures such as investigating close contacts.
Therefore, we decided to take pictures of class and school life so that we can check the contact between children later.
Togasaki, the director of the Toda City Board of Education, said, "I was worried about whether to restart school, but from the perspective of protecting children's learning, I decided to thoroughly restart infection control measures. I would like to work together at the school site and respond flexibly while observing the spread of infection. "
Temporary closure of local governments one after another Kanagawa
In Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City, Kawasaki City, and Sagamihara City have decided to temporarily close their schools after the summer vacation, and Yamato City's elementary and junior high schools have also decided to temporarily close their schools.
Yamato City has decided to extend summer vacation until the end of this month at all 28 municipal elementary and junior high schools due to the surge in infections under the age of 20, which has rarely been seen before.
In addition, although Atsugi City will not be closed, we have decided to shorten the classes at municipal elementary and junior high schools only in the morning for the rest of this month.
On the other hand, as the infection spreads in nursery schools, local governments are calling on parents to refrain from using the nursery school if they can take care of their children at home or if their children are not feeling well. ..
Early consultation Active examination
An expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "If you feel unwell at work or school, it is important to get a medical examination early even if you have mild symptoms, to be actively examined, and to take a break from work or school." I am.