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Wednesday, November 11, 2020
By Frauke Niemeyer
More and more children are infected with Covid-19 in schools. But Grandma and Grandpa want to see their grandchildren at Christmas. Too dangerous? An idea from NRW could help make the family festival possible.
Christmas 2020. Instead of “What are we giving ourselves?” Many people in Germany ask: “Who can we visit with a clear conscience?” Traditionally, many generations come together: children and parents meet grandparents. But this year they are at risk. And the number of Covid-19 cases is increasing in grandchildren’s schools.
Today the Association of German Teachers is raising the alarm: 300,000 schoolchildren are currently in quarantine. This number must be put in relation to the more than 10 million schoolchildren in Germany. But there are six times more than at the end of September. The association counts up to 30,000 quarantine cases for teaching staff. So the grandchildren, grandmother and grandfather, not only bring joy to the festival, but also an increased risk of infection. So what to do when family members are of an age that makes it difficult to say: will we skip the visit and postpone it until next year?
Try half the republic? There is a lack of capacity for this. Many labs are already working at or above the limit. Anyone getting a PCR smear in Berlin currently waits up to six days for the result. Then the holidays are over. However, a very early test is pointless if the person being tested continues to go to work or school. Limited resources for testing are also reserved for those who show symptoms or have been exposed to risks. So, will it be – if it does – give away with a minimum distance, a protective mask and above all with a feeling of discomfort?
CDU Prime Minister Armin Laschet put the idea of North Rhine-Westphalia into play to make it easier for families to quarantine as a preventive measure, if they so choose. Instead of letting children go to school until the first day of vacation, December 23, NRW could start vacation two days earlier. So the last day of school would be Friday, December 18. Starting on Saturday, families who want to visit their grandparents would have the opportunity to leave their children at home. Parents who can also work in the home office would have the opportunity to minimize the risk of infection for five days, except for appointments or errands that cannot be avoided.
It would be like an “abbreviated” quarantine
Such a short-term regulation could benefit families in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Thuringia, because in the seven federal states the start of the holidays is dated December 23 . All other federal states only have regular classes until the Friday before the fourth Advent.
If they, too, let the holidays start two days early, the kids could even go into quarantine there for a full week starting Thursday. Charité’s virologist Christian Drosten had recommended this time frame for an “abbreviated” quarantine in the past. For Rhineland-Palatinate, which will also start the Christmas holidays on Friday, December 18, the Minister of Education of Mainz, Stefanie Hubig, has ruled out advancing the start of the holidays.
“For many, Christmas is a celebration of family and friends,” Hubig told ntv.de. The SPD politician is currently the president of the Conference of Ministers of Education. “We should still behave carefully during the Christmas holidays and especially on New Years Eve.” Regarding Laschet’s proposal, I could say for Rhineland-Palatinate that the Christmas holidays there begin on December 21, a Monday. “When this is not the case, the ministers responsible for education and culture have to decide together with their heads of state.”
Laschet is considering catching up on the two canceled classes at Carnival. Schools in North Rhine-Westphalia have the option of having flexible vacation days, for example Rose Monday. But according to Laschet, one thing is “clear”: there will be no carnival next year. Neither on the streets nor in the way we meet him on Rose Monday. And you really shouldn’t go on vacation, “said the Prime Minister at the WDR. Without classes at Carnival it would be superfluous.
The SPD parliamentary group in the Düsseldorf state parliament accuses Laschet of having sparked the next chaos with his remarks. Just a few days ago, NRW School Minister Yvonne Gebauer of the FDP described the idea of extending winter break as inappropriate. Now the state government sounds completely different. Laschet is optimistic: “The idea is not bad.” And Gebauer announced that night that they had decided to release on December 21 and 22. So Friday, December 18, will be the last day of school this year at NRW. Gebauer wants to clarify about the compensation in the coming days with teachers, parents and student associations. And also how emergency care can be guaranteed on the extra days off.
“A very small gear”
Stephan Wassmuth, president of the Federal Council of Parents, approves. “It is a very small gear that could turn. A short and simple solution that can be implemented quickly and does not involve any major restrictions,” he tells ntv.de. He, who is the father of four children, can understand very well that older people in particular want a visit at Christmas. It therefore welcomes the proposal for North Rhine-Westphalia as a “small component that can help families at Christmas”.
Health Minister Jens Spahn also supports the idea of an earlier start to the holidays. From his point of view, it could be discussed early next week when the federal and state governments meet to evaluate the previous two weeks of closure. The proposal was “certainly part of the debate, also for Monday or for the next few weeks,” said the CDU politician on the “early start” of ntv. Planning is important for parents, children, and teachers. “That would be the case with such a measure.”
