Back to school Testing across the board in NRW on the first day back at school
Düsseldorf · There’s a sharp rise in the infection rate due to the Omicron wave. Against this background, millions of pupils and teachers in NRW are being tested this Monday on the first school day after the holidays.
Schools reopened today after the Christmas break, with the approximately 2.5 million pupils in North Rhine-Westphalia back in the classroom. All pupils, teachers and other school employees will be tested for the Coronavirus on the first school day after the holidays. People who have been vaccinated or are newly recovered will also have to be regularly tested at school, explains Minister of Education, Yvonne Gebauer (FDP). The extended testing obligation is meant to ensure the safety of everyone. According to the ministry, the tests detect all known virus variants, including Omicron.
Close-mesh testing is an important prerequisite that will let children and young people to exercise their right to education in schools even during the pandemic, Gebauer emphasised in the run-up to the start of school. By detecting infections, regular testing at schools also contributes to controlling the incidence of infections in society as a whole. The NRW Education and Science Union (GEW) would have found it better if on the first days of school after the holidays pupils had been divided into groups, and tests would have been done in advance. According to the GEW, this would have made it easier to maintain physical distance.
Basically, the current testing rhythm for pupils remains the same: at secondary schools, antigen self-tests are scheduled three times a week. At primary schools and schools for special needs pupils, testing remains twice a week with PCR lollipop tests. Immunised school staff are to have antigen self-testing or so-called “Bürgertest” three times a week from Monday. Any non-immunised school staff will continue to take an antigen self-test under supervision at school on attendance days or submit a “Bürgertest”.
Original
dpa
Translation
Jean Lennox
