NRW, Corona: Dortmund wants to close schools despite state government veto

DThe dispute over renovated school closings is accelerating again in light of the growing number of infections. This is exemplified in North Rhine-Westphalia and the dispute between individual municipalities and the state government. In the most populous federal state, the cities of Dortmund and Duisburg want to close schools again. The state government continued to reject this on Wednesday.

After a first attempt by the city of Dortmund to close its schools related to the crown failed due to the veto of the state Health Minister, Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), the mayor of Dortmund, Thomas Westphal (SPD) , announced a new application to the state on Wednesday. The goal is to close Dortmund schools from Monday.

The Ruhr-area city had already wanted to close schools again on Wednesday due to the worsening corona infection situation, but Laumann banned it. As justification, the NRW Health Minister referred to the incidence number in the Ruhr area city, which is below the emergency brake value of 100. NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) also recalled that in the debate over Corona’s requirements, everyone involved had given priority to opening schools.

In return, the mayor of Dortmund, Westphal, referred to a vastly increased risk of infection among young people due to the Corona variants. The situation was further aggravated by the temporary suspension of vaccines with the Astrazeneca vaccine. The city will now request that schools be closed again on Monday, “then we’ll see how the state government reacts,” Westphal said.

Duisburg sends nurseries into emergency operation

In addition to Dortmund, the state government also rejected plans by the city of Duisburg to renew school closures. Duisburg Mayor Sören Link (SPD) called, in view of rising advocacy values, “absolutely sensible” to close schools again to protect students, their families and teachers and to switch to distance learning. “Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible to me that the country is putting an end to these plans.

In the large city of the Ruhr area, the value of new infections in seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Robert Koch Institute on Wednesday, was 122.1 and thus has been above the critical mark than 100 for about a week, from the municipalities and the state on the withdrawal must advise on relaxation or other containment measures.

According to the city, at least the childcare of the nursery will be drastically reduced again. A city spokesman said Wednesday that only children whose parents are active in systemically important professions or who have special care needs will likely only be seen in the emergency operation starting Friday. The measure was coordinated with the country. A tightening of the rules of contact in public spaces is also foreseen.

North Rhine-Westphalia Family Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP) was apparently surprised by Duisburg’s announcement that it would restrict the nursery. The minister walked out of an ongoing session of the state parliament integration commission for a few minutes Wednesday afternoon because he had to “clarify the facts,” as he put it. He found the fact that a large city with such a high proportion of migrants would be the first to largely shut down daycare operations and only open facilities for critical infrastructure, he found “remarkable,” Stamp said later on the committee.

“The principle of hope has had its day”

Meanwhile, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also spoken out in the discussion. In a discussion with young people, Steinmeier said he expected flexible solutions that would prevent care, education and encounters from being painfully and widely interrupted. If children and adolescents are the first to step back, this will not be without consequences.

Education Minister Karliczek spoke of a “tightrope walk” in which the interests of children and health protection must be weighed. When asked whether schools should remain open in the event of another total closure, Karliczek replied that this needs to be seen at the regional level. “If I can fine-tune my package of measures again and thus keep the situation in schools safe, I think this can be represented at the local level.”

The education union VBE (Association for Education and Parenting) warned against the fact that the principle of hope has had its day. Protective measures in schools are not enough. Staff had to receive vaccination offers as soon as possible and rapid tests were needed at least twice a week, the association’s president, Udo Beckmann, demanded. “It is the responsibility of the politicians to do everything necessary to ensure that the school works and does not become a game of roulette.”

This Thursday, the ministers of education of the federal states will discuss again. No concrete resolutions are expected at this time. How they actually proceed is regulated by the federal states themselves. Basically, for the moment at least, older students are still expected to gradually return to schools. Elementary school students have been back in the classroom since February. The lessons are usually in the so-called alternate model, that is, with divided classes that are taught alternately at school and at home on the laptop.

Yet critics fear unnoticed infections, not least because reports of insufficient self-tests and self-tests are growing in schools everywhere. Also, vaccinations for daycare staff and elementary school teachers are stagnant because vaccinations with AstraZeneca have stopped. In the current situation report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) it is said about infections in children: “The strongest increase can be observed in children from 0 to 14 years, where the 7-day incidences have doubled in the last four weeks. “