The rules for Covid-19 in schools are changing.

From now on, it will take at least three contact cases in a nursery or primary class to close the class, or even the school.

When a child tests positive, his class will be able to "continue to behave normally for the other pupils, who are no longer considered as contact cases", announced Sunday, September 20, the Ministry of Education said in a statement. .

Children not very active in transmission

Until now, if a student was considered a "contact case", he could only return to school if a test, carried out seven days after the last contact with the confirmed case, was negative.

"The protocol for identifying people with contact cases, their possible isolation, the possible closure of classes, or even schools, will however be applied when there are at least three confirmed cases in the same class" coming from different families, continues the Ministry.

In addition, a kindergarten or elementary school teacher wearing a mask and having worked with a non-masked student positive for Covid-19 will no longer be considered a contact case and will no longer be invited to isolate himself, he explains.

>> To read: Two out of three students in the world will not find school

"Children not very active in transmission"

These new rules are based, specifies the ministry, on an opinion of the High Council for Public Health (HSCP) dated Thursday, according to which "the children are little at risk of severe form and little active in the transmission of SARS-CoV -2 ".

These changes were outlined at the end of the week by the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.

They aim to lower class closures due to Covid-19.

According to the latest official figures, 89 schools - public and private under contract - are currently closed in France due to cases of contamination by the coronavirus (out of a total of 61,500), including 76 schools.

With AFP

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