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WHO and UNICEF call on Europe: Schools must remain open

Politiko 2021-08-30 10:34:58

WHO and UNICEF call on Europe: Schools must remain open

Schools across Europe need to stay open and become safer for staff and children. This has been demanded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, as the new 'Delta' variant is becoming more and more broadcast.

"The pandemic has caused the most catastrophic disruption of education in history," said Hans Kluge, head of the WHO region in Europe. "It is vital that classroom-based learning continues uninterrupted."

Kluge said that as the pandemic continued, "educating children safely in a physical school environment" was "of paramount importance to their education, mental health and social skills" and should become "a primary objective" for governments.

According to foreign media , 44 out of 53 countries in the WHO region of Europe closed their schools nationwide at the height of the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020, and while most reopened in September, the numbers rose of infections sparked new restrictions and more closures in dozens of countries during the fall and winter.

Mass absences and frequent school closures continued in some places during the spring and early summer, with more than 1 million children, or 14.3% of the age group, out of school for reasons related to Covid or isolated or because the school their closed - in England in late July.

"We encourage all countries to keep schools open and urge all schools to take measures to minimize the risk of Covid-19 and the spread of variants throughout the new school year ," Kluge told a joint statement with Philippe Cori, Deputy Regional Director for the UN Children's Fund for Europe and Central Asia.

Both organizations said that teachers and other school staff should be the main target groups for vaccination, adding to the need to vaccinate all children aged 12 and over.

School facilities should also be made safer by improving classroom ventilation, reducing classroom sizes where possible, maintaining rules of physical distancing, and regularly testing both students and staff, they recommended.

"The pandemic is not over," Cori said. "Children and young people can not risk having another year of interrupted learning. They have been the silent victims of the pandemic and the most marginalized have been among the hardest hit. "

"Vaccination is our best line of defense against the virus as we continue to pursue the public and social health measures we recognize as work, including testing, sequencing, tracking, isolation and quarantine," Kluge said.

 

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