For complexity researcher Peter Klimek, this is also justifiable. Stricter safety measures in schools would only have a manageable effect, after there is almost no longer a mask requirement in society at large and there are hardly any tests. “You just can’t separate that from what’s happening in the overall population in terms of infection levels.”
There will be more clusters in the schools than in the last school year, expects Klimek, who researches at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna. In order to reduce these, however, one would have to invest a disproportionate amount of effort in view of the high transferability of Omikron, said Klimek to the APA. “Since Omikron, screening with tests only makes sense with a great deal of effort, so it might even give the illusion of false security.” In addition, children are usually the least vulnerable group.
In addition, the debate about which measures make sense in schools must now be conducted differently than a year ago: schools used to be treated differently than other areas of society, among other things, because this is often how infections get into households and thus into people with a higher risk of severe courses. In the meantime, however, this risk can be reduced in a different way (vaccinations, therapies). “If you focus primarily on protecting the vulnerable in the current phase of the pandemic, it is only consistent that you have normal operations at school.”
Of course, it makes sense to stay at home if you are infected, “as you would do with any other infectious disease,” emphasizes Klimek. “That applies at school as well as everywhere else.” The guidelines of the Ministry of Education, on the other hand, stipulate that asymptomatic infected students and teachers with FFP2 masks are allowed to take part in lessons. If the epidemiological situation changes, from Klimek’s point of view, the first option would be to sharpen the wearing of masks.
“Of course, it still makes sense to control infectious diseases at school,” emphasizes Klimek. He advocates taking Covid-19 as an opportunity to better equip schools in general against infectious diseases. An important lever is ventilation, although in most cases relatively low-tech solutions can be used.
Source: Nachrichten
