Covid school: new protocol, mask, back to school

New protocol at school: what will change in January?

The students, from kindergarten to high school, are back on Monday January 3, with a reinforced health protocol. Primary schools remain at level 3 and at level 2 for middle and high school students, but new measures must be observed. Indeed, the Ministry of National Education has issued new recommendations. Thereby, when a teacher is absent, the pupils should not be distributed among the other classes while awaiting replacement. The sports activities should preferably be organized outdoors, or indoors provided that they are “low intensity activities compatible with the wearing of a mask and the rules of distancing”. As of January 3, moments of conviviality are prohibited between staff, or between staff and students. The galette des rois will therefore not be able to take place at the beginning of the year because these festive moments do not allow to respect the barrier gestures, estimates the government. Parent-teacher meetings as well as meetings between professors should preferably be organized remotely or by videoconference. School trips organized in an enclosed space (theater, museum, cinema, etc.) must be postponed, just like school trips. We should also remember that classes close with three positive cases to Covid-19, for a period of 7 days. In middle and high school, vaccinated contact case students can return to face-to-face lessons, while non-vaccinated students must continue with distance learning.

The latest news on Covid at school

• Wearing a mask from 6 years old in certain public places. From this Monday, January 3, children from the age of 6 (instead of 11) will have to wear the mask in certain public places, according to a decree published on January 1 in the Official Journal. The mask will therefore be compulsory at this age in public transport including taxis and VTC, as well as in establishments open to the public, in particular performance halls, places of worship, museums, libraries, shopping centers and shops, covered markets. The only exception: the practice of artistic activities, such as singing or theater, or the practice of sports.
• The start of the school year maintained on January 3. Despite the request of many health professionals, the start of the school year remains open on January 3, 2022, the Prime Minister confirmed on December 27 following the Defense Council. Screenings will nevertheless be reinforced for the return to school of the pupils.
• At least two negative tests to go back to school? Jean-Michel Blanquer announced this December 28 on France Inter that when a positive case is detected in a primary class, students could take at least two negative tests, several days apart, to be able to return to school, against a test currently. “In the first degree, we have leverage on the testing side. Our goal is that now when there is a case in a primary school, students only come back to school with a negative test. Today we only do one test, and we will surely go to two or three tests several days apart “. Corn the government does not seem to have validated this new measure.
• The exams will take place face to face for the students. Frédérique Vidal confirmed on December 29 on France Info that the students would spend their exams scheduled for January in person, but postponements could be considered “on a case-by-case basis” specified the Minister of Higher Education. There will also be no gauge in the amphitheatres as Jean-Michel Blanquer had announced the day before.
• The unions are windy. The measures announced by Jean Castex on December 28 concerning schools did not convince the teachers’ unions. “The real debate is how we secure the colleges and high schools, and it is clear this evening that the speech of Jean Castex is of an immense contradiction “(…) But we hardly had a few words on the reinforcement of the testing policy, we have no idea how it will be done (…) We do not know how in a few days the colleges and high schools will be equipped with Co2 sensors, we are still wondering how are we going to open the windows“, confided Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of SNES-FSU (National Union of Secondary Education) on FranceInfo. The SNUipp-FSU expresses the same concerns. “Schools remain open but are not secure, the virus circulates there, children become infected, sick teachers are not replaced, the school is in very degraded mode but we keep saying that everything is fine because we don’t care“, wrote on Twitter Guislaine David, co-secretary general and spokesperson for SNUipp-FSU.
• A 20 million euros bugdget to finance the purchase of CO2 sensors at school. “Nothing will replace aeration. The rule is about 10 minutes per hour “, recalled Jean-Michel Blanquer on France Inter on December 28.” The equipment of CO2 sensors is a competence of the communities but we are in support of these communities (.. .) I have no doubt that we will go towards equipping everyone, ”he added, specifying that an envelope of 20 million euros had been devoted to the financing of these CO2 sensors for schools.
• Paediatricians favor the vaccination of 5-11 year olds. In a press release dated December 23, pediatric learned societies support the recommendations issued by the HAS and the Vaccine Policy Orientation Council as well as the position of the National Consultative Ethics Committee. “As of now, this vaccination campaign should make it possible to offer families and volunteer children broad access to vaccination by focusing on first, children entering college“specify health professionals.
• “It is among children that the virus circulates the most”. This is what Olivier Véran said on December 22 on the occasion of the opening of vaccination to all children aged 5 to 11 years. “You have an incidence rate which means that today, there is one in 100 children positive for Covid. The incidence rate is 1000 per 100,000 inhabitants. It is in this population of children that the virus circulates the most, “said the Minister of Health. And according to him, the school is a place conducive to contamination. “Because the children are stirred at school, they crossed paths, they played, because respecting barrier gestures is more difficult, because they are not vaccinated and they could not not so far, “he added.
• No health pass for teachers. While the government wants to extend the health pass and transform it into a vaccination pass, Jean-Michel Blanquer is opposed to introducing it at school, including for teachers, who are 95% vaccinated. It is according to him a measure of “last resort”. “The school is a sanctuary, a place apart. There must not be any factor that prevents the people who work there, teachers and students from going there”, specified the Minister of National Education on December 19. on BFMTV.

Vaccination of children from 5 to 11 years old: how many doses?

Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 has been open since December 22 following favorable opinions from the High Authority for Health and the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE). Vaccination of children is not compulsory and is not a condition of obtaining a health pass., specifies the government. The vaccine used for 5-11 year olds is Comirnaty vaccine (from Pfizer / BioNTech laboratories) with a dose reduced to a third compared to an adult dose. In addition, children who have not been infected with the virus will receive two doses, spaced 21 days apart, the others will only have one dose.

What are the measures in the canteen?

Since Monday, December 13, the mixing of students from different classes, class groups or levels has been limited in school canteens. Concretely, the pupils will have to have lunch every day at the same table with the same classmates and respect a distance of at least two meters with those of the other classes. “Catering conditions will be adjusted in conjunction with local elected officials to limit mixing as much as possible“, explained the Prime Minister during a press conference on December 6.

Class closures: numbers and protocol

The Ministry of National Education records, as of December 16, 77 schools and 3 colleges closed due to positive coronavirus cases. “The appearance of three confirmed cases among the students led to the closure of the class for a period of 7 days. “ specifies the government. This is because students who test negative can return to school, while other students continue home schooling. “There will no longer be systematic class closings from the first case of Covid-19, but systematic screening of the whole class. In other words, only students who test negative will be able to return to class. These tests can be carried out by the legal representatives.“declared Jean-Michel Blanquer on November 25. middle and high school students : high-risk contact students without full vaccination continue for 7 days with distance learning, while vaccinated students can continue face-to-face lessons.

“For this to work, all children will have to be tested. No student will be able to return to class if they do not have a negative test. It is the educational teams who will have to check the tests provided by the parents: these tests do not fall under medical confidentiality.“said Jean-Michel Blanquer on France Inter this Friday, November 26.

Where to take a back-to-school test? RT-PCR tests on nasopharyngeal or salivary sample, RT-LAMP or antigen on nasopharyngeal sample. can be carried out with authorized city professionals, medical biology laboratories and pharmaceutical pharmacies in particular. Supervised self-tests are not recognized for this type of situation, as regulations do not allow them in contacts of a confirmed case. Finally, regardless of the type of test performed, the tests are free for minors.