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The cases are unavoidable in schools, despite the low spread of the pandemic virus in society and despite the combined measures taken with the use of a mask, to be able to open the schools on September 14.
The lifting of the lockdown and the absence of measures to restrict movement cannot completely reduce the virus, so “cases are also expected in schools,” as Professor Sotiris Tsiodras explained yesterday.
The only certainty is that the children will start the lessons all together and the course will show how the measures will unfold, since the situation is dynamic and epidemiological data can change overnight.
The postponement of the school year start date to September 14 also follows this logic. It is intended that all the hikers from the summer vacations have returned, so that in the period between the middle of the month, when schools open, those who fell ill in August have been identified and the children can start the new school year without facing new ones incidents and the dispersion they entail.
If there are cases to students or teachers, then the classrooms that faced the problem will be closed and not the entire schools, since this year the school cleaners carry out special tasks for the necessary disinfection of the premises.
Another protection measure is the different recess time, while the possibility that children do not move from the classrooms, except the teachers, to take their lessons continues to be investigated.
Care has also been taken with the school canteens, so that the available products are packaged in individual packages so that they are not exposed to the air.
Children who are not in school this year are at higher risk, such as those with kidney failure, HIV, cystic fibrosis or other serious lung diseases, sickle cell anemia, and immunosuppression. The same is true for those who have had a transplant or have metabolic or neurological problems. All of them can attend a course, this will be done remotely or live with substitute teachers who have been hired for this purpose.
Consequently, teachers from high-risk groups will be able to provide distance education to students who have special reasons for being absent from school.
For this reason, in addition, this year there have been special hiring of substitute teachers, according to the assurances of the Ministry of Education.
We will have cases
Despite all the efforts made to prevent the contagion of students and teachers by the new coronavirus, Professor Sotiris Tsiodras said yesterday that such a thing is inevitable. As he said, “the measures we take do not mean that there will be no cases in the school, that is clear. And of course, when the blockade has been lifted and there is a greater spread of the virus in the community, it is expected to see cases also in the schools. schools “. .
However, he assured me that “what you know, with mathematical precision, is that these cases will be less severe,” explaining that the children are mildly ill and the problem only worsens when there are concomitant diseases.
For this reason, there is a need for constant vigilance and surveillance, not only in schools, but also in nursing homes, so that cases are identified in a timely manner and there is no further transmission.
He pointed out that it is important that local communities participate and intervene so that the transmission does not spread, adding that it has already been observed in one area that the dispersion is extensive, while in other places there is nothing.
The responsibility for the audits, according to the Vice Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalia, corresponds to the Regions that have the corresponding control mechanisms.
The masks
Regarding the use of a mask by children, S. Tsiodras pointed out that in young children it must function as a toy and there must be a good example from the parents, while in older children there must be valid information since the teenagers have access to social networks and are exposed to misinformation.
He usually reported an incident in which a COVID-19 patient, while just before intubation, yet still believed there was no coronavirus! Returning to the masks, Mr. Tsiodras stressed that they protect both those who wear them and those around them, but they should be used as one of the measures to avoid the virus and at the same time distances and hand hygiene should be observed. .
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