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Status: December 29, 2020 5:29 pm
The operation of the Hamburg schools will remain restricted even after the Christmas holidays. The number of infections remains high, the Senate said Tuesday. Face-to-face classes may not start until February.
“We currently do not know how successful the closure will be,” said School Senator Ties Rabe (SPD). “But due to the persistently high number of infections, it can be assumed at this time that schools in Hamburg, as in the other federal states, will not return to regular classroom teaching in January.”
Option also in the second week of classes
The requirement to be present in Hamburg schools will be lifted until at least January 17, 2021, according to a message from school authorities. The Senate decided on Tuesday. Parents should now be able to decide in the second week of school whether their children study at school or at home. “We continue to appeal to parents to keep students at home if possible,” Rabe said.
There will probably be no classroom lessons until the end of January.
Additionally, the Senate assumes that there will not be full classroom instruction at all grade levels in the last two weeks of January. “Here we have to wait and see how the situation really develops,” Rabe said in an interview with the Hamburg Journal. The Senate will decide this in January after consulting with the other federal states and taking into account the infection situation.
Three models for lessons in the second half of January
Rabe explained that three variants had been practiced with the schools: “Or that we do the face-to-face lessons in the schools with special safety precautions, like after the summer holidays.” . Or that students learn alternately for one day at school and another at home. “These three models could be implemented in the short term.
The regulation aims to create safety for schools
Rabe asked for understanding for the decision with which to react to the current infection situation. “By extending the existing regulation for a week, we will save time and give schools more safety and preparation time for the next few weeks.”
Criticism of the school senator
Meanwhile, Rabe sees himself currently exposed to harsh criticism from the opposition. A study conducted on behalf of the Hamburg health authorities found that when there was a corona outbreak three months ago at the Heinrich Hertz School in Winterhude, many of the infections were due to a single person.
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Rabe rejects the accusations
The study is said to have been available to Rabe for a long time. Left-wing politicians and the CDU criticize that the investigation results refute past statements by the school senator that schools are safe places. The senator denied the accusations.
Rabe: Corona is also broadcast in schools
He told the Hamburg Journal: “We have always made it clear that there are indeed infections in schools, that Corona is still transmitted there, but that most students are infected outside of school.” At the Heinrich Hertz school in particular, the public was informed early on that many students at the school were infected here.
From the school senator’s perspective, the study isn’t surprising news
“In fact, we always assumed there were 34 students,” Rabe said. “Based on the research it is clear: there were 25 students. So this is not surprising news. On the contrary: the originally very bad news has been toned down a bit.”
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