Paris (AFP)
Twenty presidents of pediatric societies called on Thursday to "go ahead" in welcoming children to school, denouncing fears "not based on facts" and "excessive distancing measures" in establishments school.
"It is urgent to control our fears and move forward for the sake of the children," say these pediatricians, including the president of the French Pediatric Society Christophe Delacourt, in a column published by Le Quotidien du docteur.
Three days after the reopening of classes, and while a second wave of schoolchildren resumed their way to school on Thursday, specialists make "the observation of the many difficulties in a pragmatic reopening of classes", due to "blockages ".
"These blockages are fueled by fears often not based on facts, and lead to unrealistic organizations, and potentially highly anxiety-provoking for children," stress the signatories of the tribune.
For doctors, "opening schools is possible, because we know today that a child infected with Covid-19 very rarely develops severe symptoms".
In addition, the "initial hypothesis" making children the "main vector" for the circulation of the virus has been denied. "Communities of children, kindergartens or classes, continued to exist during the confinement" and "no epidemic was noted in these groups of children", they observe.
In this context, the presidents of pediatric societies deem certain measures of distancing implemented in schools "useless or even harmful", such as the abolition of play areas, the prohibition of children playing with each other or the refusal to console a child .
These measures "are manifestly inapplicable and would be likely to cause an anxiety particularly harmful to the development of children", they insist, asking to combine the "essential barrier measures" with "the reality of childhood", made "of games , laughter and tears. "
By Friday, some 1.5 million schoolchildren must return to school, the first middle school students from the green areas being expected on Monday in their school.
However, the number of children admitted has remained very low in many schools, due to the restrictions linked to health protocols decided by the authorities, but also to the fears which they have provoked in many parents.
© 2020 AFP