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In North Rhine-Westphalia, students can start the Christmas holidays earlier due to the corona pandemic. In order to allow families to have as carefree a Christmas as possible, the decision was made to release on December 21-22, NRW School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) told WDR.
So Friday, December 18, will be the last day of school this year at NRW. In the coming days he wants to clarify with teachers, parents and student associations how the failure of the current school year can be compensated for and how emergency care can be guaranteed on December 21 and 22, Gebauer said. Winter break normally only starts on December 23rd.
An early start to the holidays should reduce infections at Christmas
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) brought the start of the winter school holidays in NRW by two days on Tuesday.
The background of the considerations is that people should limit their contacts as much as possible a few days before Christmas so that there are no infections in family celebrations. Gebauer spoke of a “pre quarantine” that he wanted to implement.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) commented positively on the approach. “That is certainly part of the debate,” Spahn said on Wednesday on the “Frühstart” program on RTL and ntv television.
Planning is important for parents, children, and teachers. “That would be the case with such a measure.” That could also be part of the debate on Monday, when the country’s leaders and Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) discuss next steps to combat the pandemic.
According to the Association of German Teachers, more than 300,000 schoolchildren are currently under quarantine in Germany after local corona outbreaks. The number of teachers in quarantine currently stands at 30,000. As a result, more and more schools are being closed throughout Germany, said the president of the teachers’ association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger.
It has not been conclusively clarified whether children are less likely to be infected with the virus and therefore have a lower risk of further transmission. However, some research had indicated this. One reason could be a receptor through which the virus enters the body and is not usually present in children.
