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There is no database to scientifically calculate how much the reopening of schools is influencing the spread of the coronavirus in Italy. However, virologists and statisticians have repeated it to the extreme: the return of students to the classroom is the crucial test bed for containing the health emergency. But how is the real impact of the beginning of the school year on the epidemic really proven if there is no transparency in the monitoring of the bell groups?
“There is no public document on the subject – says Lorenzo Ruffino, an economics student in Turin -. I know for a fact that the Higher Institute of Health does not have a database dedicated to schools. I don’t know if the Miur is carrying out such an investigation, but in any case it never communicates. Citizens, on the other hand, need to know this type of information.
Together with Vittorio Nicoletta, a doctoral student in decision-making systems in Québec, Ruffino has created a platform to retrieve this type of data. And a map that gives a visual representation of it.
How did you come up with the idea of creating a database to monitor positive cases of Sars-CoV-2 in schools?
“We realized that no one was following up on this guy. However, it is a matter of public concern. For example, there are several private citizens’ initiatives around the world, in the Netherlands, in Canada, that are doing the same. There is a lack of clarity on the part of the government, I cannot think that it is a question of superficiality.
How do you collect the information?
“For now, we rely solely on news from local newspapers that we believe to be reliable. We weren’t expecting all this success – we’re getting a lot of reports. We are now working on a form to collect all the news from users in an organic way ».
You spoke of success. You can be more specific?
“The map, published only on my Twitter account, in less than 24 hours has exceeded 5,000 views.”
Where did you start to develop a job like this?
“Looking for the news online. But it is not easy: it is a matter of scanning local newspapers that, sometimes, are not well indexed in Google. The positive thing, however, is that they write about extremely local things, for example reporting the statements of the mayor, the school director, and that gives credibility to the source.
What is the latest data you have?
“Since we started collecting information on September 14, after ten days we reached more than 350 schools with at least one case of Covid. In the first three days, the average was about twenty schools identified per day. Then the average jumped to 50. What must be highlighted is that we are finding many cases even though the schools are closed: only on Monday, September 21, election day, we have identified 60 schools involved.
Where do most of the bell groups occur and who do they affect?
“We have found most of the schools involved in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto. More populated regions with more open schools. 80% of the positive cases refer to students. 10%, on the other hand, the teaching staff. The other 10% the staff, the janitors. A particular case occurred in Aulla, in Tuscany: the school bus driver tested positive, leading to the isolation of more than 40 people.
Sometimes parenting positivity also has to do with school groups. Then, in about 60 cases, we recorded that the entire school was closed to allow for sanitation. In 250 cases, the school remained open and only the class and teachers involved were quarantined. In about 40 cases, however, we have not been able to reconstruct the evolution of the matter.
Is there a difference between school grades?
“About 28% of the cases are in high school. 26% elementary schools. 22% kindergarten. The remainder of the series is divided between middle schools and unspecified comprehensive schools.
When you consider it real cluster?
“When we see that there is more positivity related to that school. We have currently identified 33 school outbreaks with two or more cases. Another 16 are still under evaluation.
What are the most relevant cases in number or specificity?
«In Chianciano Terme, in Tuscany, there are 5 cases linked to a positive identified in the school. The municipality has closed all schools as a preventive measure. In Carate Brianza, in Lombardy, 4 positive students were found in 4 different schools: in reality they are 4 children from the same family who do not attend the same school. In Subbiano, in Tuscany, a positive teacher who works in two primary schools caused the closure of both schools: the scenarios are so many and it amazes me how the public did not think of creating an organic tool to observe them.
Cover photo: Lorenzo Ruffino, economics student at the University of Turin
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