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Most of the 180 primary schools in the municipality have had school staff and students infected with the coronavirus, which Göteborg Direkt reported for the first time.
In recent weeks, there has been a marked increase in the number of cases, explains Anders Andrén, who is head of education and covid coordinator in the administration of primary and lower secondary school in Gothenburg.
– Climb up steeply. Three weeks ago, about 20 schools were affected, two weeks ago 50 and now there are more than 100 who have or have had a covid infection, he says.
None of the Gothenburg Township schools are currently fully closed due to the crown. But on Monday, Lindåsskolan in Billdal introduced distance education interspersed with in-school teaching for high school students.
On Wednesday, Ryaskolan in Biskopsgården will also start with a similar arrangement, as well as a third school that Anders Andrén does not want to name because it is a smaller school with a small vulnerable group of students.
Distance education for the Christmas holidays
All three schools continue with partial distance education until the Christmas holidays.
– It is an adaptation to be able to maintain teaching, reduce the spread of infections and give students a good working environment. The school reflects the wider society and it would be strange if any school were completely rid of covid-19, says Petra Last, principal 7-9 at Lindåsskolan.
She explains that students have distance learning one day a week. And not everyone is home at the same time.
– Students connect digitally in real time with the educator. Nothing else changes in his teaching, explains Petra Last.
Anders Andrén states that the primary and lower secondary school administration is in daily contact with infection control and when a positive test result is known, the infection is followed up.
– Of course, everyone who is sick is at home, but the crucial point is that we must make an assessment together with the director. What other students has this student been in contact with 24 hours before the infection was found? The same is true of school employees. If an infected person has had close contact with other people at school, this is when infection control recommends that we take these steps, he says.
Significant increase in sick leave
Sick leave among staff has risen considerably and absenteeism is significantly higher than normal.
– You should stay home as soon as you have symptoms. Both among students and among teachers, absenteeism is between 15 and 20 percent. In most schools, 20 percent of employees are absent. Otherwise, the absence is usually between five and seven percent, explains Anders Andrén.
He points out that the situation in front of the teacher at the moment is very tense. Every day, 500 substitutes are inside the company.
– And that’s not enough. We need even more substitutes. Many employees work hard at this time and act as substitutes for each other. They make heroic efforts to keep teaching, says Anders Andrén.
There are no special crown restrictions that apply in the school world, but it is the same general advice as in the whole of society.
“Great demands on teachers and principals”
– To wash your hands, keep your distance and be home when you are sick. It demands a lot from our teachers and principals to organize activities so that children and young people can maintain social distance.
Anders Andrén says that school staff are encouraged to work from home whenever possible. Maybe not with teaching, but with planning and desk work.
Principal Petra Last describes how work at the school during the crown is largely about making adjustments as time goes on, working teams coming up with solutions together, and “doing everything we can with the conditions we have. “.
– Of course, these are children and young people, and thinking that they must walk or sit at a distance of two meters from each other all the time, is not something that is done so easily, he says.
Petra Last says that the staff take on challenges very well, but there is obviously a concern about infection.
– I hope you’re concerned. Because it is a state of discomfort. We shouldn’t let go of that feeling, because we don’t want to let go of the restrictions and advice we receive, he says.
See more:
in Sweden, more than 6,000 people have died with covid-19. In Norway, the death toll is around 300. Despite the big difference, the figures do not give a complete picture.
