Covid-19: reduced protocol in French schools

Classroom, Magnolias school, Nice, September 1, 2020. REUTERS / Eric Gaillard

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This Tuesday, September 22 in France comes into force a reduced protocol in nursery and elementary schools.

While we are witnessing a rebound in the epidemic, the rules concerning contact cases of a student positive for the coronavirus will be relaxed.

Objective: to avoid as much as possible the closure of classes or schools.

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This protocol redefines what a risky contact case is in schools, an environment where adults are masked, but not students since the obligation begins in college.

From now on, if a teacher wearing a mask, therefore, has rubbed shoulders with a student positive for the coronavirus, he will no longer have to isolate himself;

until then his isolation implied a class closure.

Concerning the children: if one of them tests positive, his comrades will no longer be considered as a contact case;

the class will be able to continue to be held - the closure only intervening after 3 positive cases.

The Ministry of National Education specifies that these new provisions are based on an opinion from the High Council for Public Health.

According to this opinion, children are at low risk of developing serious forms and are not very contaminated.

They would also be not very contagious, specifies the authority.

But this point is debated among scientists around the world. 

In any case, the Snuipp-FSU, the first primary school union, protests against this redefinition of contact cases within schools, which according to him aims "

involves

"

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