Cologne –

After more than a year of wearing masks at schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government is promising easing. Schoolchildren should finally be able to die in their seats, they would then only have to be worn in the aisles. However, the reactions from the student body are very different.

The state student council (LSV) decided to cancel the mask requirement. School minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) ignores “as usual” the concerns of the student representatives, criticized board member Julius van der Burg on request. With the planned end of the mask requirement, the expertise of various virologists will be thrown to the wind. Before making the decision, Gebauer had also discussed it with teachers, pupils and parents’ associations.

Worries about wave of infections in autumn and winter

The state student council shares the concerns of many virologists about a wave of infections in autumn and winter. At the beginning of the school year, the student association had already described the lifting of the mask requirement as “fundamentally reprehensible”.

The Kölner Jugendring, an amalgamation of 20 youth associations, including the Cologne district school student council, sees things differently. The association announced that it was in favor of the abolition of the mask requirement. The decision is based on the assessment of the paediatricians. However, the board misses a long-term strategy of the state government during and after the pandemic. It is important to carry out tests in schools. In addition, self-tests should be given outside of school.

Significantly reducing the incidence of corona in children

According to a spokesman, the Cologne city administration announced that the decision can be understood in view of the general easing and the shorter incidence in children. The mandatory tests are now important in order to be able to react quickly to increasing numbers of infections in autumn and winter. In North Rhine-Westphalia, unvaccinated students at secondary schools have to test themselves for the corona virus three times a week. The city of Cologne continues to offer schools the option of replacing one of these self-tests with a lollipop PCR test. Elementary school students take two such tests per week.

The Rhein-Erft district criticizes the lifting of the mask requirement and refers, among other things, to the lack of admission for children under twelve. Therefore, more and more quarantine measures are to be expected for those sitting next to infected schoolchildren and entire school classes. In this respect, the country should also adjust the quarantine regulations for schools if there is a “consistent policy”, said a spokesman for the district administration.