Schools – Düsseldorf – Federal emergency brake takes effect in many schools and daycare centers in North Rhine-Westphalia – education

Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – In many schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, only distance learning is the order of the day. At the same time, only emergency care is offered in many daycare centers. The nationwide emergency brake takes effect in these areas from a seven-day incidence of 165 and that as early as Monday. It is true that the limit of 165 new corona infections per 100,000 inhabitants must be exceeded within 7 days in a district or an independent city on at least three consecutive days so that lessons and daycare are restricted on the day after the next. However, this period has already been met in a number of regions.

For many schoolchildren, from Monday this means again only learning at a distance from home. An exception applies to the final classes and special needs schools in the regions with values ​​above the 165 mark, which could still continue their previous models of alternating lessons or face-to-face lessons for exam preparation, the Ministry of Education said on Friday. All final exams – including the Abitur exams that just started on Friday – could take place as scheduled. In addition, emergency pedagogical care will be set up again.

On Sunday, 35 districts and independent cities – more than half in North Rhine-Westphalia – were above the new threshold of 165 of the nationwide applicable emergency brake, which is relevant for the restrictions on schools and daycare centers. On Sunday, the NRW Ministry of Health announced that the regulation would take effect for two other municipalities because they exceeded the threshold. From Tuesday on, education and childcare will be more strictly regulated in Bielefeld and in the Herford district.

In counties and urban districts with a seven-day incidence below 165, the previous mode of alternation between face-to-face and distance teaching remains. There is a compulsory test for students in schools. This involves two self-tests per week. The study groups are divided. In many schools, for example, there is a model of daily alternation between learning at school and at home.

For many daycare centers, too, the number of infections shows that there is a limited supply. This time, the state government made stricter requirements for emergency care. Parents who cannot ensure the care of their children in any other way and therefore want to make use of emergency care must submit a written declaration. However, there are also numerous other reasons such as the child’s well-being or a disability for the emergency care of children in the daycare center. Children who are about to start school in the last year of daycare can also go to their daycare centers, analogous to the procedure for the final classes in schools.

Until the end of February, there was a limited day-care center in North Rhine-Westphalia, but the parents were only appealed to by the state government to look after the children at home. In addition, the care time has been shortened. After that, all children were allowed back into the facilities – with a further reduction in the number of hours of care if the daycare centers wanted that.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210426-99-353037 / 2

– .