The new provision, which will enter into force as early as Monday, will be used as a last resort to avoid congestion at school and public transport.
- This new provision is an opportunity not an obligation and the decision is the principal's, says Ekström.
Anna Ekström points out that local education in almost all cases is preferable to distance education and that each school must take into account the students' age, needs and different conditions when they make decisions about how the education should be conducted.
The special school and the special school are not covered by the provision.
- It is a very difficult situation.
We have always had the attitude that the best thing is if the schools can be open as much as possible, says Ekström at a press conference.
Air classrooms after each lesson
The primary school must continue to offer its students school meals, even if the lessons are conducted at a distance.
The schools that remain open should avoid mixing student groups and make sure to host the classrooms after each lesson.
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- Teaching in schools also needs to be adapted so that larger gatherings and congestion are avoided, says Peter Fredriksson, director general at the National Agency for Education.
"The situation is so serious"
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency's Director General Johan Carlson, the outbreaks at school are no greater than at other workplaces.
He maintains that it has been a successful strategy to keep primary schools open.
- Children get mild symptoms and they have not been shown to be driven by the infection, he says and continues:
- But the situation is so serious that we must open up to all conceivable measures.
Komvux shall continue with distance education as far as possible.
In upper secondary school, the same applies until 24 January.