A student who was in the classroom for a lesson with a corona-infected teacher has to be quarantined for 14 days.
With an urgent decision, the Düsseldorf Administrative Court confirmed a corresponding order from the state capital's health department (Ref .: 7 L 2038/20).
The administrative court referred to the guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) as a justification.
People who have been with an infected person in a poorly ventilated room for more than 30 minutes are therefore generally assigned to risk category 1, for which the RKI recommends two weeks of quarantine.
This applies regardless of the distance and whether a mask is worn.
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The quality of the air exchange is crucial
The complaining student was therefore rightly assigned to Category 1 and the quarantine was ordered, the administrative court decided.
In the disputed case, the windows and the classroom door opposite were open.
The Düsseldorf judges found the extent to which the risk of infection could be significantly reduced as a result "but cannot be assessed within the framework of effective hazard prevention".
Because the air exchange that can be achieved through ventilation also depends on the weather and the behavior of those affected.
The teacher walked around the room and probably spread her aerosols throughout the classroom despite the mask.
In addition, the 30-minute threshold specified by the RKI was exceeded by half for a 45-minute lesson.
Overall, the public interest in the protection of life and health outweighs the "short-term restriction" for the student.
An appeal against the decision is possible at the Higher Administrative Court in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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