Jean Castex has confirmed that the start of the school year will be maintained on January 3, 2022, with increased screening. The dates of the Christmas holidays will therefore not be extended as claimed by health professionals.
[Mise à jour du 27 décembre à 20h55]. Reminder period increased to three months, mandatory teleworking in business for at least three days, wearing of the mask in town centers, gauges in large gatherings … Omicron variant and with the surge in Covid-19 cases, Jean Castex announced new measures that will be applied from January 3. However, the government does not intend to institute a curfew on December 31, nor postpone the date of the start of the school year, therefore maintained on Monday January 3, 2022. Screenings in schools will also be reinforced when students return to school.
Yet in an open letter published in the Sunday Newspaper this December 25, 50 healthcare professionals challenged the government on the level of viral circulation of Covid-19 in children and are particularly concerned about the risks of cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS). They claim “the postponement of the start of the school year on January 3, at high risk given its proximity to the New Year’s festivities, with recourse to distance education until the return to thresholds of publicly defined health indicators“. The caregivers also recommend more measures in schools: awareness of ventilation, ventilation and CO2 sensors, a new health protocol at school, “based on effective measures, triggered by epidemic indicators, known and anticipated“, and raising awareness among families on the risks of Covid for children, as well as on vaccination.
“School is the last thing to close”
Jean-Michel Blanquer recalled this December 19 on BFMTV that school was “the last thing to close”. This December 21, Jean Castex had met local elected officials to discuss the start of the school year. The associations of elected officials already shared the same point of view: maintain the start date, as expected. “We noted several interventions to insist on the fact that measures taken with regard to our schools, for example extension of holidays, could only be a last resort.government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.In this, they join the will of the government to do everything to keep schools open as much as possible. “
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.
The latest news on Covid at school
- An unusual symptom in children who are Omicron variant positive. According to a British doctor, consultant for the Sky News channel, noted that children affected by the Omicron variant could have rashes. “We have always had a small cohort of patients with Covid-19 who have strange rashes, but up to 15% of Omicron children have an unusual rash, ”said Dr. David Lloyd.
- Paediatricians favor the vaccination of 5-11 year olds. In a press release of 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.
- Jean-Michel Blanquer opposed to class closures. The Minister of National Education responded to requests for class closures from certain politicians, facing the Omicron variant. “It is the opposite of common sense, it is what should be considered as a last resort”, he declared on LCI this December 22. He calls not to confuse the school and the nursery with regard to the risk of contamination and adds that at school, “the children have social interactions, as their parents have (…) but since the at the start of the crisis, there is no more cluster in schools than anywhere else “.
- 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,” said the Minister of National Education on December 19. on BFMTV.
- Insufficient ventilation in schools. According to a Swiss study by Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) published on December 9, “students and teachers (are) more likely to contract the coronavirus in classrooms where the air (is) of poor quality than in those (…) regularly ventilated“. Furthermore, she reveals that”the air quality in many classrooms is poor“and recommends airing them regularly”even during the winter semester“.
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.
What health protocol at school?
the health protocol in schools has also been strengthened since Thursday, December 9. He passed from level 2 to level 3 in primary school, which means that schoolchildren should wear the mask inside and out, and that physical activities should preferably take place outside. “For elementary school children, we will ask for an additional effort until the holidays. Wearing a mask will also be required in the playgrounds and team sports with contact will be restricted ” Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on December 6. In addition, systematic screening of all students remains maintained if there is a positive case in class. Classes close from 3 positive cases for Covid-19.
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.