“Closing schools for two weeks will have little effect on stopping the virus.” Susan van den Hof of the RIVM announced this on Tuesday Heart of the Netherlands. She is responding to Ginny Mooy of the Red Team earlier in the day, in which Mooy indicates that schools must close for a fortnight because many students seem to be contracting the corona virus.
Mooy left on Tuesday morning BNR News Radio know that it is irresponsible to keep schools open. However, Van den Hof of the RIVM says that modellers have calculated that it will have little effect on the infections if all schools are closed for two weeks. “It is difficult for schools to have to close classes and organize online classes, but that is still preferable before all schools close. We don’t want a lost generation, ”says Van den Hof.
Also read: Red Team raises the alarm: infections among teenagers are very high, all schools are closing
‘Cabinet must make a decision’
Wim Schellekens of the Red Team, the group of scientists who provide (un) solicited advice about the corona approach, Heart of the Netherlands know that the statement of his colleague Mooy is a bit more nuanced. According to Schellekens, the cabinet should prevent schools from becoming hotbeds, but on the other hand, he believes that children need school and closure has major consequences.
“If you really want to reduce infections in the Netherlands, you should also look at the schools. The problem is that closing schools has social consequences. And that also needs to be considered ”, says Schellekens. “The weighing up of all social interests lies with the cabinet. We only want to provide our considerations, the cabinet has to make the decision. ”
Like Schellekens, Red Team member Marino van Zelst also thinks colleague Ginny Mooy’s statement is a bit more nuanced. According to him, closing schools is only an option as part of a general lockdown. “School closure is of course a lot of damage, so only in the context of such a strict lockdown should it be considered.”
Are schools trouble spots?
Schellekens says that the Red Team is “very concerned”. The percentage of positive tests among children is high. 15 to 25 percent of the children tested get a positive result, he says. There is also an increasing dropout rate among teachers. Schellekens fears that the schools will become hotbeds for the virus in this way.
Also read: Scientists believe that the cabinet should intervene ‘quickly, briefly and forcefully’
Van den Hof of the RIVM says that the number of infections among secondary school students is indeed increasing, but “it is increasing in all age groups”. “This week, six percent of the infected people were high school students, which is not that large. If we look at the number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants, we see that it is even lower for secondary school students than for all other age groups, ”says Van den Hof.
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