Claude Meisch, Luxembourg's Minister of Education;
Credit: SIP
During a press conference on Thursday, Luxembourg's Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, announced that primary schools will switch back to homeschooling for one week from next Monday.
The Education Minister confirmed that around 30% of current COVID-19 cases in schools had originated in the school environment itself. He noted that there were clear chains of infection within schools, adding that there had been a significant increase since autumn 2020.
Minister Claude Meisch also addressed the recent news of all "cycle 2" classes of Albert Wingert Primary School in Schifflange being placed in quarantine following a coronavirus outbreak. Whilst the situation remains under control in many schools, he warned that others could follow suit.
Based on data analyses carried out by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, the authorities have now decided to close primary schools again for one week from Monday 8 February 2021. Skills centres, music schools and Maisons Relais will also close until after the half-term break, although creches will remain open. Secondary schools were already set to close next week for half term.
During this period, parents of children aged 13 and under may apply for family leave if needed.
Concerning sporting activities, Luxembourg's Ministry of Sport recalled in a subsequent press release that indoor and outdoor sports remained permitted (in most cases) without the obligation of physical distancing or wearing a mask as long as no more than two people are involved. A maximum of ten people can simultaneously practise a sporting activity, as long as everyone maintains an interpersonal distance of at least two metres.
Nevertheless, in order to align with the latest decisions of the Education Ministry and after consultation with the Department of Health, the Ministry of Sports has strongly recommended that sports clubs opt for outdoor rather than indoor sporting activities, all the while respecting the current sanitary regulations. This recommendation does not apply to swimming pools, as swimming remains exclusively possible in lanes fitted out under the conditions provided for by law (maximum six athletes per 50m lane and three per 25m lane). The ministry also strongly discouraged the use of changing rooms and showers during this period (i.e. 8 to 21 February 2021).
