113 COVID-19 Cases Confirmed in Schools since Reopening

Following the Cabinet of the Luxembourg government's meeting on Friday, Minister of Health Paulette Lenert and Minister of Education Claude Meisch confirmed the three-tier health system to combat the spread of COVID-19 in schools and provided details on the different scenarios.

The system advocates a differentiated approach, adapted to the cases that arise in primary and secondary schools and aimed at reconciling the right to education and maximum security for all students and staff.

Scenario 1: no quarantine for an isolated case 

If only one student in a class tests positive for coronavirus and there is no indication of infection at school, neither the infected student's classmates nor his / her teachers are subject to quarantine. In this case, only the infected individual is isolated at home. The rest of the class and teachers continue to attend school under strengthened health conditions, such as wearing a mask in class and not eating in the canteen. The whole class is then tested from the 6th day.

Scenario 2: quarantine for multiple cases in a class

If multiple cases are identified in a class, the whole class is subject to quarantine.

Scenario 3: additional measures for infection chain 

Additional measures will be decided in the case of detection of an infection chain in a school.

In addition, the Luxembourg government has decided to extend the extraordinary family leave related to COVID-19 to allow parents to stay with their children outside of school hours.

Since the start of the school year, some 113 students have tested positive for COVID-19 (provisional figures). In public schools, 60 isolated cases (scenario 1) and three scenario 2 cases were counted in primary education and 31 isolated cases and two scenario 2 cases in secondary education. In private schools, thirteen primary school pupils and four secondary school students have tested positive.

Ministers Claude Meisch and Paulette Lenert reiterated their call for compliance with barrier measures (wearing a mask, interpersonal distances, frequent hand washing), including in sports locker rooms or during extracurricular activities. The two ministers stressed the usefulness of having clear and comprehensible rules for all to limit the spread of COVID-19 among the population.