End of the Christmas holidays: school starts with Omikron

Status: 03.01.2022 10:18 a.m.

The holidays are over: in several federal states, school is starting once more despite the still unclear infection situation. Because of Omikron, Health Minister Lauterbach described masks in class as “an absolute must”.

In the midst of the uncertainty regarding the exact number of corona infections due to the holidays, schools in several federal states have started classroom teaching once more following the Christmas holidays. On this Monday, the students in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Berlin, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate returned to class. On Tuesday the Saarland follows with the school start, on Wednesday Hamburg and – depending on the decision of the schools – also Thuringia.

Children and young people in Thuringia start school from home following the Christmas holidays. For them there should initially be distance lessons on Monday and Tuesday. From Wednesday onwards, according to the plans of the state government, the schools should be able to decide for themselves whether they should continue to work in face-to-face or in distance or alternating classes.

Face-to-face teaching as the top priority

The Minister of Education of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Simone Oldenburg, urged prudence when starting school. The schools have known what to do for over a year, said the minister. “For the education ministers of the federal states, continuous face-to-face teaching at schools continues to have the highest priority in order to guarantee the right of children and young people to education and participation,” said Oldenburg in advance of the start of school.

The Berlin Senator for Education Astrid-Sabine Busse also said that face-to-face classes should be offered as long as possible. Since the beginning of the pandemic, children and young people have had to come to terms with many restrictions in their young lives. At the same time, Busse defended the rbb compulsory tests in schools. On-site testing is necessary “because it may not be taken so precisely in all parental homes.” In school this is already an absolute routine. “Before class – and we want to keep it that way.”

In Berlin there should be daily corona tests in the first week of school, following which every school-age person will be given three tests per week.

Pediatricians: Schools don’t do enough

There are clear words in particular in the ranks of paediatricians: “There is a clear and unequivocal commitment from politicians to consider school closings – if at all – as the very last measure,” said the president of the professional association of paediatricians ( BVKJ), Thomas Fischbach, the online edition of the “Ärzte Zeitung”. “We insist on this promise.” Basically, too little has happened in schools so far to fully adapt to the pandemic, criticized Fischbach. “If representatives of teachers’ associations then always immediately call for school closings when the incidence rises, then this is basically a declaration of bankruptcy of the school system in Germany.”

Fischbach emphasized that there are a number of ways to avoid school closings despite the pandemic situation. Existing hygiene concepts should be implemented more consistently in schools and teachers should be trained accordingly. The federal states and municipalities should also provide sufficient air filters for the facilities. “The funds are there, but they are not yet called everywhere,” said the association president.

Lauterbach calls for the wearing of masks

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach called for masks to be worn once more at the weekend in the fight once morest the new coronavirus variant. “The viral load of the infected is lower with Omikron, so masks work better,” said Lauterbach of “Bild am Sonntag”. This is an “absolute must” in schools.

The Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Education recently confirmed their goal of keeping schools and daycare centers open. The education ministers of the federal states want to hold a short video conference on Wednesday to discuss the situation in schools – i.e. before the next switching conference of the heads of government of the federal and state governments on January 7th.