School, Ecdc: “Closure is extrema ratio”

Closing schools to fight the Coronavirus pandemic for governments should be “the last resort”, because the “negative” impacts on children and society as a whole of the school lockout “outweigh the benefits”. Therefore, it is “imperative” that there is “a high level of preparation in the education system for the 2021-22 school year”. The ECDC, the European equivalent of the Atlanta CDC, underlines this in a report published today. “The general consensus – writes the European Center for Disease Control – remains that the decision to close schools to control the Covid-19 pandemic should be the last resort. The negative physical, mental and educational impacts on children of the closures , as well as the economic impact on society, would likely outweigh the benefits. ” “Given the probable continuing risk of transmission” of Sars-CoV-2 “among unvaccinated children, it is imperative” to prepare well for the 2021-22 school year, so that it will not be like 2020-21.