At the start in autumn there are tests for schoolchildren, teachers and administrative staff in order to exclude infected return travelers in the school building. Whether regular tests have to be carried out after this “safety phase” depends – just like the rules for wearing a mask – on the infection situation.
With vaccinations, testing and wearing a mask, there are three tools to make school operations safe in times of Corona. “You can’t say anything about the respective mixed ratio yet,” said Famann at the appointment at the Bundesgymnasium Zehnergasse in Wiener Neustadt, where afterwards artists such as Pizzera and Jaus and DJ tzi performed at a “school closing concert” broadcast live by ORF1. In any case, further concrete measures should be announced in August, when the infection rate can be better estimated.
The motto “As much normality as possible, as much security as necessary” will apply again for autumn, according to Famann. The tests begin in the first two weeks of school. Depending on availability and acceptance, rapid antigen tests or the more reliable PCR tests should be used.
Limit values are still to be determined
As far as tests are concerned during the school year, Famann wants to set limit values for tests together with the Ministry of Health. Regionally limited measures may also be conceivable. In any case, over the summer all students should be given five test kits to take home with them so that they can test themselves if they feel sick or want to meet people who are particularly at risk.
Famann also again campaigned to take advantage of vaccination offers. If necessary, larger school locations could be used as vaccination centers, says Famann. In addition, the ministry – also together with the religious communities – wants to educate parents about vaccinations.
Restraint in mask compulsory
Famann was reluctant to wear a mask: In a study by the Austrian Society for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (GKJ) in 15,000 households, eight out of ten respondents rated the test strategy (three antigen self-tests per week) as positive, while two-thirds of parents said they had to wear a mask all the time felt as a great burden.
He will therefore discuss with the Ministry of Health when it is appropriate to wear a mask in the coming school year. He can also envision establishing an early warning system for this, but this could work differently than the last school-gargle study carried out, for example on wastewater analysis, so Famann when asked about the APA.
Reluctance to use air purifiers
The question of whether air purifiers should be used in schools has not yet been finally clarified. Discussions are still ongoing here with environmental medicine specialists, school maintainer and the Federal Real Estate Company (BIG). “We have to be convinced that it will help, because it is an expensive exercise.”
For the time being, Famann is not concerned with compulsory vaccinations, as the City of Vienna wants to provide for new employees in the Vienna Health Association, social institutions and kindergartens. The teachers are part of the public service, “I cannot imagine going it alone with the teachers,” said the minister to the APA. However, Famann would like to find out together with the Ministry of Health what the vaccination rate actually looks like among the teachers.
Looking back on the past school year, which included everything from an almost normal school start to complete closings, the minister referred to various initiatives in his house for safe school operations, such as mobile teams of doctors to quickly clarify suspected cases, early vaccination offers for teachers up to the antigen self-tests systematically used in schools for the first time in Austria. From Famann’s point of view, the latter were also “an important instrument for breaking the third wave”, as they also indirectly reached groups with the parents that would otherwise be difficult to test. The test strategy also made it possible to keep the schools open since February.
Criticism from the opposition
Criticism of Famann’s announcements came from the opposition: For FP education spokesman Hermann Brckl, the decision announced for August about protective measures for the coming school year comes much too late. From autumn, there will no longer be any distance learning, because with room air purifiers, partitions and hygiene rules, face-to-face lessons will be possible for all students without tests and masks, says Brckl. In addition, the classes should be divided into “core subjects” in the next two years in order to make up for educational losses.
NEOS education spokesperson Martina Knsberg Sarre also pleads for schools to remain open as much as possible. To this end, it would be essential to further increase the vaccination rate among adults. “Here the federal government must finally do targeted educational work in order to counteract any reservations.” The fact that the usefulness of air purification devices – a NEOS requirement for a year – is only now being checked by the Ministry of Education is not enough.
