Schools in France overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases

It’s just a week since French schools reopened after Christmas but already one in four teachers and nearly 50 pupils are sick with COVID-19 at the Jean Renoir High School in Boulogne-Billancourt.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports with new testing and contact tracing rules introduced at the start of this term, the headteacher, Aristide Adeilkalam, now faces a huge challenge.

Aidelkalam said 47 pupils have COVID and he needs to identify the contacts for each.

He said up until now, they could handle cases one at a time, as they arrived but now they are overwhelmed.

The school of 620 students and 40 teachers in the suburbs of Paris is not alone – schools all over France are struggling to manage COVID cases.

France has put emphasis on keeping schools open, no longer rushing to shut down classes with positive coronavirus cases.

It chose not to extend the Christmas holidays to help control the Omicron and Delta waves, unlike some of its EU neighbours.

However, schools say it has become very hard to cope with the increase in COVID-19 cases and the new testing rules.

When a child tests positive for COVID-19, the rest of the class must each perform three tests over five days – the first at a testing centre or pharmacy, followed by two self-administered tests.

Vera Basseal hopes school will return as normal, saying the

While the protocol outlines a five-day testing plan, those five days are frequently stretching to a week or more, depending on test availability.

Testing is free for all fully vaccinated French residents and the system has been both consistent and reliable throughout the pandemic – certainly relative to most other countries.

However, the new three-test protocol for students and a record numbers of COVID cases in the community have finally started to exacerbate queues at pharmacies and testing labs.

Pharmacies across the country have spent the week chasing supplies of self-test kits to meet demand from parents.

In the week to January 2, a record 8.3 million coronavirus tests were carried out in France – and that was before the holiday period ended.

Teachers’ unions are angry.

One union – the SNUipp-FSU – has called for strike action, saying “schools are on the edge of blowing up.”

Accusing the government of taking “a risky gamble” with the health of teachers and pupils, the union wants a return to shutting down each class where there are COVID-19 cases.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer rejected the criticism saying the argument to close schools to prevent community transmission and protect adults is not sustainable.

He said of course it’s tough and complicated but it’s the price the country must pay to keep schools open.

Despite a slow start, 90% of those aged 12 and over in France have received at least two doses of a coronavirus vaccine. Vaccination to children from age five began at the end of December.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald