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On Thursday, the government made a decision that will help secondary schools carry out part of their distance education. The aim is to reduce congestion in schools and, therefore, the spread of the new coronavirus, which has hit Swedish society hard again during the autumn. But the government wants to avoid the same situation as in the spring, when all of the country’s upper secondary schools switched to distance education.
– I and many others want to avoid that, and we do better by taking responsibility together, said Education Minister Anna Ekström (S) during a press conference on Wednesday.
But in more than half of the country’s regions, several primary and secondary schools have already closed temporarily. This has taken place following the decisions of the director and director, often in consultation with infection control physicians, but sometimes against their recommendations.
DN has contacted everyone of the country’s 21 regional infection control physicians, 19 have responded. Of these, eleven state that during the fall there were schools in their regions that were temporarily closed and switched to full distance education.
Katja Brandt Persson says the decision to close was made in consultation with Västa Götaland infection control, but across the country, infection control doctors are reporting schools that are closing despite being discouraged.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
One of those who decided to close her school is Katja Brandt Persson, head of the independent Noblaskolan Nya Hovås in Gothenburg. It was in connection with the fall break that the virus began to spread among the school’s nearly 500 staff and students.
– In consultation with infection control Västra Götaland, we discuss appropriate measures to break the routes of infection and the spread of infection. They thought that there was so much infection in the school that an appropriate measure would be to switch to distance and distance education.
The school, which serves students in grades six through nine, was closed for a week in early November before it could reopen. Katja Brandt Persson says they both feel good about taking action to stop the infection from spreading, but they also get it.
– There is a large proportion of students who are at a disadvantage with this form of teaching. They need to be in school to receive help and support to achieve their goals. It is difficult to reach these students through distance and distance education.
Many of the infection control doctors they have a hard time answering exactly how many schools are closed in their region. These are isolated cases of almost ten schools in the regions. Region Skåne states that they are not aware of any cases of a school closure, despite DN having information from the principal that at least one independent upper secondary school in Lund has temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the infection.
Several of the infection control doctors say they recommend that schools remain open if asked. “We follow the Public Health Agency guidelines that schools should not be closed,” responds Dalarna infection control physician Anders Lindblom.
The Östergötland region also has several cases of schools that have closed despite an infection control recommendation to remain open. Infection control doctor Britt Åkerlind says that in some cases it may be that so many members of the teaching staff have become ill that it has not been practically possible to continue teaching as usual.
In the Jämtland Härjedalen region has four upper secondary schools closed and transitioned to distance learning temporarily during the fall. Infection control deputy doctor Annika Ersson says infection control was involved and made a decision about the school’s first closure.
– When we had the first cases of infection in high school, we had no idea how opening high school would affect the spread of infection. So it was a precaution.
Since then, however, he has discouraged school closures, saying that when infection control now looks at cases that have cropped up with sick schoolchildren, they can almost always be linked to out-of-school contacts. She says that schools that, despite deterrence, have closed their schools have at times acted on a concern in faculty.
– The fear is that I indicate to the teachers that it is a legitimate concern. Because we don’t see that it is. There are very few cases of infected teachers in these schools.
Safety Director Paula Hammerskog of the independent school group Academedia has noticed increased concern from staff, parents and students in recent weeks. Today he receives almost a hundred emails a day with questions about the virus pandemic.
Photo: Lena Dahlström
The independent school group Academedia He is the owner and principal of Nya Hovås in Gothenburg and 70 other primary schools and 150 upper secondary schools. During the fall, five of them closed again and switched to distance education for up to two weeks to stop the infection. Security director Paula Hammerskog says they immediately come out with information if someone gets sick at a school.
– I know that there are those who think that it is wrong that we do this, that we scare people. But I cannot reason in any other way than that it is fair that those affected know, so that they can act on the basis of that knowledge.
She says cooperation with regional infection control systems worked poorly in the spring, but improved significantly during the fall.
How the infection spread gained momentum again, notices growing concern among parents and staff. Since the summer, he has received an average of two, three emails a day with questions related to the pandemic. Two weeks ago, it started to increase more and more. He now receives nearly 100 emails a day from parents, students, and staff wondering why a school does not close despite the spread of the infection, or how government regulations on up to eight people in public gatherings go from the hand with the teaching that follows as usual.
– In the spring, there was uncertainty about what happened and what it meant for the schooling of students. Now, instead, it is a fear that is very clear. People are afraid of getting infected.
Read more: Government opens up to distance education in secondary school
