New measures in the canton of St. Gallen: Mask requirement in secondary schools +++ Visits to hospital only in exceptional situations +++ Adjustments to quarantine rules

That is why the department of education decided to extend the mask requirement to the upper level of elementary school. It is mandatory to wear it throughout the school building and also during classes. The same requirements already apply in vocational schools and cantonal schools, where the federal government has decreed it.

With the tightening, the St. Gallen Department of Education wants to reduce the number of quarantine cases. Because the contact persons of the people who tested positive have to be quarantined if they could not maintain the minimum distance or if they did not wear a mask. “With the mask requirement, the number of quarantine cases can be reduced, helping to avoid the school having to switch from face-to-face learning to distance due to too many failures,” the message continues. The education department wants to avoid distance education in elementary schools whenever possible for reasons of school quality.

No singing and limited physical education

When singing, the aerosols are scattered in large quantities, greatly increasing the risk of infection. Therefore, for the moment it will be necessary to avoid singing in the high school and in the cantonal schools, alone and in the choir. Instrumental lessons are allowed, as well as music theory. Also in sport, the risk of virus spread is significantly higher. However, “real” physical education with masks is not practical. The education department does not want to completely prevent school sports, but does want to restrict it. Contact sports like soccer, basketball, and hockey are already banned by the federal government. At the upper level of elementary school and in the middle schools in the canton of St. Gallen, the sports lessons in the corridors are now held in half classes, keeping the distance. This means that masks can be dispensed with.

Due to their organizational complexity, professional schools, in turn, have to find sports forms that adapt to the situation and with which restrictions can be met. Physical education in full classes (without masks) is allowed outdoors, subject to distance regulations.

Decision on ski camps in November

The schools fall camps have ended and the ski camps will not start until next January. Therefore, the development of the situation can be observed here for the moment. However, the Department of Education recommends that no camps be held until the end of the year. In November 2020, you want to decide whether or not ski camps can be held from 2021.

These measures apply as of this Monday, November 2 and like those of the federal government until further notice. The director of the education department, government councilor Stefan Kölliker, prepared the measures in consultation with the health department and in discussion with the school’s employers ‘and workers’ associations and a delegation from the education council.

Hospital visits only in exceptional situations

Due to the epidemiological situation and to protect patients and health personnel, the health department has decided to prohibit visits to hospitals and clinics. This will go into effect on Saturday, October 31 and will initially be valid until December 16. Patients in acute hospitals, psychiatric clinics and rehabilitation clinics are no longer able to receive visits during this time. This also includes meetings in common rooms such as a cafeteria, the hospital chapel, or on the hospital premises.

Visits to patients who are in an extraordinary situation are still allowed. These include, for example, parents of children in hospitals, partners of women of childbearing age, or visitors from palliative patients. Exceptions are granted by the management of the institution.

The district president, Bruno Damann, head of the Health Department, is aware that the visitation ban is drastic. “In the current situation, however, the protection of patients and health personnel, as well as the operation of medical care, have the highest priority,” he said in the press release.

Contact tracing is no longer possible without spaces

With the increasing number of cases, continuous monitoring and specific interruption of transmission chains through contact tracing is no longer possible. It is important that contact trackers are able to inform and counsel people who have tested positive in a timely manner (within 24 hours). Therefore, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) gives cantons freedom of action to implement contact tracing.

The St. Gallen Department of Health will adjust the quarantine process and rules starting October 31. The following applies without change:

• The person who tested positive remains isolated.
• Your close contacts, who live in the same household, must be quarantined for ten days as before.
• As before, the contact tracing team will contact the person who tested positive.
• The person who tested positive now informs their close contacts outside the same home of a possible infection.
• These people no longer need to be quarantined. Instead, they must keep their distance, wear a mask, and adhere to hygiene rules.
• If personal and professional circumstances allow, these people should work from home. If they have mild symptoms, they should stay home and get tested.
• The simplified quarantine rules do not apply to those who received a quarantine order before October 31.
• Positive cases in schools and homes will continue to be clarified through contact tracing if necessary. The monitoring team then assesses whether additional steps are indicated. This may be the case, for example, if several positive cases are recorded in a school and therefore quarantine is indicated for all classes in the school.