Corona outbreak among preschoolers: ‘Rapid tests and vaccinations really needed now’

A corona outbreak among the youngest children at an Amsterdam primary school, last week, is causing concern among school leaders and teachers. “Rapid testing and vaccination could all be a bit smoother,” says the General Education Association (AOb). “Gas on it, so we can keep teaching.”

All primary schools will be fully open again from Monday. The OMT thinks this is justified, but at primary school Oostelijke Eiland in Amsterdam, children and teachers were infected in four of the six kindergarten classes last week. In one class, half of the students turned out to be positive.

In 12 percent of schools, one or more classes were sent home in mid-February. This concerns approximately 0.2 class per school, which is approximately one class per five schools. That appears from research of the General Association of School Leaders (AVS). On average, about six students per school are in quarantine.

Turbulent issues

AVS chairman Petra van Haren: “It is the first incident that so many children have tested positive in a kindergarten, it also has to do with the British variant, which has never happened before. If this continues, we will have a an issue that we had not had to deal with before. We look forward to at least six months of turbulent issues, and perhaps even longer. “

The school leaders fear major consequences for education if something does not change quickly. “We have had a year in which nothing was normal, and with the British variant, the testing policy that is not in order, and the education that does not yet have a place in the vaccination strategy, we are not yet through it”, says Van Haren. .

Pilots

Start next week at five primary schools pilots with quick tests for education personnel. These tests are used preventively, so without any known contamination. In successful pilots, the aim is to deploy rapid tests within three months for all teaching staff in primary education, the ministry confirms today.

The education union is appealing. “We rely on the experts, but education staff deserves a place in the vaccination strategy and the availability of rapid tests must be speeded up seriously. The incident in Amsterdam underscores what we have been saying for weeks”, says Tamar van Gelder of AOb. “Also test small children with every snot bubble.”

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