The Ministry of National Education has once again changed the health protocol concerning schools, due to the end of the territorialization of braking measures.
What will the health protocol look like in schools when the school year begins on April 26? The services of the Ministry of National Education, contacted this Friday by BFMTV, assure that it is “in preparation” and written “in collaboration with the health authorities”. Trade unions will also be consulted “from next week”, the same source said.
But some teachers are already worried, because the health protocol was changed on Saturday – and lightened with regard to the rules on class closures, just days after being reinforced in the first departments where “braking measures”.
From 1 case to 3 cases
On March 26, Jean-Michel Blanquer announced, during a press conference, that a class would be automatically closed in the first case of Covid-19 contamination, in the 19 departments which were then affected by reinforced restrictive measures. The measure applied to all school levels, from kindergarten to high school. It was registered in the frequently asked questions (FAQ) of the Ministry of National Education from March 27, as evidenced by this archived page of the website.
But this FAQ was updated on April 3 and 8, lamented the teachers’ collective “Red Pens” Thursday on Twitter.
In both versions of the FAQ, one archived and the other in line, a case of Covid-19 no longer automatically results in the closure of a class. Three are now needed, as was the case before March 27.
“In the event that three students from the same class (from different siblings) are positive for SARS-CoV-2, all the students in the class will be considered to be at-risk contacts. An in-depth study of the contacts will determine whether the staff of the the class must also be considered as risk contacts in accordance with the prescriptions of the health authorities “, one can read in the last version of the FAQ.
The specificities of the variants
Regarding variants, the rules are slightly different. For the English variant, the course of action “is the same as for the general case”. But the closure of the class “may however be considered from the first case” depending on its movement in the territory concerned, in consultation with the corresponding regional health agency.
In the event of a positive student for the South African or Brazilian variant, the class will be automatically closed. A class closure is also implemented as soon as a student is identified as a risk contact of a parent, a member of the siblings or any person living in the same household as him contaminated by these variants, specifies the FAQ.
What protocol for the children of priority personnel?
The services of the Ministry of National Education justified this change of rules, due to the nationalization of the braking measures, announced on March 31 by Emmanuel Macron.
“The previous protocol provided for reinforced measures in 19 departments. As this territorial distinction is no longer in force, it was no longer necessary to maintain these rules”, one explained to BFMTV. “But this does not foreshadow the protocol applied from the 26th,” assured this source.
The reception of 125,000 children of priority personnel was done “in very small groups” and “in this situation the closure of a case was no longer automatic”, it was further specified.
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