Coronavirus Update Compulsory testing at NRW schools also for vaccinated and recovered children
Bonn · NRW Ministry of Education extends mandatory testing when students return to school after the Christmas holidays
There will be mandatory testing when schools re-open next Monday after the Christmas holidays. The decision was made by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Education. Teachers, pupils and other staff who have been vaccinated or have recently recovered will also have to undergo regular tests, announced Education Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) in Düsseldorf on Thursday. This is intended as a step to provide "additional protection".
Antigen self-tests will be carried out three times a week at secondary schools, and PCR pool tests ("lollipop tests") will be used twice a week at primary schools and schools for special needs pupils.
To fulfil the testing requirement, school staff can either participate in three antigen self-tests weekly or submit a negative “Bürgertest” (a free rapid test from a test centre). Staff who cannot prove they are immunised will be required to take an antigen self-test or submit a negative “Bürgertest” test on a daily basis.
(Translation: Jean Lennox)
