The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control considers that schools could reopen in September in Europe, as there have not been many outbreaks in these establishments, but advises companies to keep teleworking.
“We consider that, considering the available data, children and schools are not the main sources of the spread of this pandemic”, the deputy head of the disease program of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control says in an interview with Lusa agency (ECDC, its acronym in English), Piotr Kramarz.
For this reason, "countries should open their schools [in September] and we suggest some measures to be adopted, which should be consistent with the remaining rules of the community, such as trying to increase the physical distance between students", adds the ECDC scientist. , an organization based in Sweden and whose mission is to help European countries respond to disease outbreaks.
At a time when several European countries, including Portugal, are preparing for physical return to classes and face-to-face work, which were suspended to be carried out remotely for several months due to the containment rules for the covid-19 pandemic, Piotr Kramarz argues that “Teleworking is a measure that should continue to be considered in the near future”.
“Especially now that we are seeing increases in numbers”, he highlights. Situation different from that of educational establishments, according to Piotr Kramarz.
“Although there are a lot of unknowns, there have not been many outbreaks in schools, perhaps because children are not often sick”, which then demonstrates that “this is not the biggest source of the pandemic spread and, on the other hand, closing schools had serious problems. consequences on the development of children, not only in terms of learning, but also in the social dimension”, he stresses.
“What we propose is that certain rules are complied with”, he suggests, in an allusion to measures that, in addition to the maximum possible physical distance, include “introducing specific schedules [for each year] so that classes do not end at the same time and the interval also don't be at the same time ”.
“Some schools are thinking of calling on students to have lunch abroad, if time allows,” he exemplifies.
With regard to personal protection, Piotr Kramarz stresses that “there must be materials for frequent hand hygiene” in classrooms, in addition to pointing out that the imposition of facial masks for older students may be considered.
“Time has also demonstrated the effectiveness of facial masks in preventing the spread of the virus, but this is a challenge in schools. There are countries that are considering the imposition of masks in some places of the schools, but perhaps not for the little ones, more for the older ones and for the employees and teachers ”, says the expert.
With the adoption of these measures, “schools will not be the main source of spread, but of course we will remain attentive”, assures the ECDC scientist.
In the workplace, however, it becomes more difficult to “increase physical distance”, particularly in offices, argues Piotr Kramarz, thus suggesting the maintenance of remote work.
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