Prague wants to give schoolchildren extra time off due to the covid
The goal is for the lockdown to be declared as in the previous school year. At the same time, the city is considering adjusting the teaching for quarantined classes so that it cannot stay in school. Teaching would be shifted so that children do not meet other classes. The replay of mobile vaccination teams to schools is also at stake. Mayor Zdeněk Hři // b (Pirates), Councilor Vít Šimral (Pirates) and Prague’s Chief Hygienist Zdeňka Jágrová told the press today.
“The morbidity of school children is rising very fast. When I have seven-day numbers here, children in the 12-15 age group have a morbidity of 379 per 100,000, but most of all there is an increase of 136 percent. Yesterday (Tuesday) it was 98 percent. ” Children aged six to 11 have a slightly lower morbidity, ie 352 per 100,000, an increase in morbidity of 40 percent, “said Jágrová.
Due to rising numbers, the city administration called on school founders, ie the city district, to declare director’s leave last week to extend the holidays. “After consulting with the hygiene, we decided to invite the founders to evaluate the morbidity and based on the data to decide whether they would take two days of director’s leave on Monday and Tuesday. Boletus.
According to Šimral, he does not have to take time off in all Prague schools. According to the latest findings of the municipality, this would affect about a hundred schools. “Now, in my estimate, there are about 150 schools. Where there is already an infection, they will probably get there, “said Šimral. According to Jágrová, the interval when children would not meet in schools for up to nine days helped. Hygienists know that the number of people infected will increase in the coming weeks and months. Therefore, according to Jágrová, it is necessary to reduce the starting position to the lowest possible number.
At stake is also the modification of the teaching system in the classes where the infection occurs. According to hygienists and the municipality, only a sick child could stay at home and those with a negative test went to school. However, their teaching would be shifted so that it does not overlap with other classes. Children would start at a different time and at other times they would have breaks. This would avoid meeting other classes.
The city supports the reintroduction of comprehensive testing of children, as was the case at the beginning of the school year. According to Šimral, the municipality registers the interest of 18 of the total 57 city districts. “Some have laboratories contracted from the spring so that they cannot start PCR testing,” he said. However, the city is not able to cover the costs of area PCR testing. It therefore called on the Ministry of Health to increase the quota for testing children. One wave of testing from the city cost 15 million for PCR tests and two million for antigen tests.
Some town halls are recommended by the city council to hear. Among them, for example, Prague 7 and 13. Area 6 is being considered for voluntary testing. The tests would be covered by public health insurance, “said spokesman Jiří Hannich.
On the contrary, we do not have to leave schools free in Prague 5. “Given the very low incidence of the disease in school facilities in Prague 5, we do not consider diseases. We currently have three classes in quarantine in all school facilities,” said spokesman Stanislav Brunclík.
In the case of teachers, the city appeals to be vaccinated. Jagr said that about 60 percent of teachers and school staff are now vaccinated. “It would be more convenient,” she said. The municipality is therefore considering sending mobile teams to schools where teachers could be vaccinated. “It happens that an unvaccinated teacher has gone through several classes in one day and all of them are sent to quarantine. This is what we would like to avoid,” added Šimral.