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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - For the first time in the third wave of corona, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is allowing a circle to limit classroom teaching in schools again.

In the district of Düren, the secondary schools, with the exception of the final classes, will return to distance learning in the coming week, as the district and the state chancellery announced on Thursday evening.

The state government has approved a corresponding application by the district.

This was preceded by demands from several cities that were vehemently rejected by the state, in view of the increasing number of infections, to suspend or reduce the openings of secondary schools until the Easter holidays.

Like the Oberbergische Kreis, the Düren district had already applied in vain since Monday before the secondary school students returned to an alternating model of face-to-face and distance teaching to suspend the opening until after the Easter break.

The country initially threw off further attempts from Dortmund and Duisburg this week to close schools again.

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After increasing voices and criticism from teachers and student associations, the Ministry of Education finally no longer ruled out a return to distance teaching in the event of persistently high infections as a last step.

In a decree from Wednesday evening this is referred to as the “ultima ratio”.

Embedded in an overall concept, school closings could make a contribution to infection protection on site, it said.

School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) also made it clear: Over a few days there must be an incidence of over 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days.

Only then is an application for “closing of individual schools or actually all schools” possible.

Several cities, including Wuppertal, Dortmund and the Oberbergische Kreis, had already announced that they wanted to apply to the state for similar steps as Düren.

According to the State Center for Health, 19 independent cities and districts were above the threshold of 100 on Thursday - more than a third in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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The Düren district had already submitted the second application this month to the state on Thursday to cancel classroom teaching.

Despite stricter regulations already in force in parts of the district, the incidence has been around 130 for more than three weeks and currently over 200 in the urban area. "We must therefore continue to react," said Spelthahn on Thursday.

It is not easy to return to distance learning.

"The high infection rates leave us no choice."

After the positive decision from the state, Spelthahn thanked him that evening: "This time the country was directly receptive to our good arguments," he said, according to the announcement.

In support of the decision, the State Chancellery said that the Düren district had differentiated its first considerations for measures in the school sector and had now presented a comprehensively justified overall concept.

Also because the district has already introduced other additional measures, a "limited suspension of alternating classes seems appropriate and necessary".

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210318-99-880738 / 3

Communication from the State Chancellery