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Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, Children and Youth released today the figures for students and teachers having tested positive for COVID-19.
Between 17 and 23 October 2020, there were no new chains of infections observed in Luxembourg's primary and secondary schools. Nevertheless, such a scenario was noted in a "maison relais", involving four staff members but zero children.
A total of 81 cases (maximum two positive cases in a class with an unknown source of infection) were observed in public and private schools, whilst a further 290 positive cases (infections contracted outside of school) were were counted. This increase reflects the significant increase in the number of positive cases in the country.
While the spread of the virus inside schools remains very limited, a growing number of adult staff members have been infected through contact in the private sector and are no longer able to provide face-to-face lessons at school.
Several teachers at the School of Business and Management (École de commerce et de gestion - ECG) may be quarantined following the detection of a single positive case among administrative staff. Contact tracing of the person who tested positive is still in progress. The ministry assured that this situation results from contacts which took place exclusively between adults and probably outside of school hours. Pending the decision of the Health Inspectorate, as a precautionary measure, the management has decided, with the agreement of the ministry, to use distance education for all classes until Wednesday 28 October 2020 inclusive.
Nevertheless, the school teachers' union FEDUSE has called on the ministry to do more to protect students and staff, including making it mandatory for students to wear face masks in class and offering more virtual classes.
