Prague requires the state to test schoolchildren for covid PCR tests
The management of the Prague City Council requires the state that children in schools be tested for covid-19 using PCR tests. The Office will therefore send a request to the Ministers of Education and Health that the tests be reimbursed to the schools, as was the case this spring.
PCR testing is the most effective way to prevent school closures, Councilor Vít Šimral (Pirates) told reporters today. Tracing in schools will always be individual in Prague, where we will focus on specific employees of the hygiene station. Today, extensive testing of antigenic tests has begun.
“It is a (PCR test) method that proves to be an effective and safe environment. We see comprehensive antigen testing as the first “screening” barrier to ensure that positivity is as low as possible in the pediatric population. We continue to prefer PCR as a more active and safer solution, “said Šimral.
According to Šimral, not only the municipality but also the city districts, which are the founders of kindergartens and primary schools, require testing by the PCR method. The municipality establishes secondary schools. According to the city, the state should pay schools 200 crowns for one test, just like this spring. According to Šimral, the capacity of laboratories in Prague is sufficient. “The situation turns out to be very serious and the infection rate is significantly higher than in the general population,” he added.
The councilor said today that the tracing of children in schools will continue to work on an individual basis, with schools having their “liaison officers” at the hygiene station, with whom they will consult and resolve the situation. The problem is the overload of hygienists. “Everyone is really involved in the tracing. Unfortunately, the number of hygiene workers is limited, “said Šimral. In some cases, tracing can come in a few days.
The municipality will send the request for PCR testing not only to the outgoing Ministers of Health Adam Vojtěch (for YES) and Education Robert Plag (for YES), but also to the newcomers, Vlastimil Válek (TOP 09) and Petr Gazdík (STAN).
In primary and secondary schools across the country, covid-19 is starting today due to a significant worsening of the epidemic. It should continue every Monday until about the end of February next year. Unvaccinated pupils who have not been infected with the new coronavirus in the past 180 days will be tested. Firefighters delivered antigenic tests from the state material reserves to their schools. For unvaccinated teachers, they will have to arrange the school testing themselves. (CTK)