Kiel (dpa) - The reintroduction of school lessons without distance rules in the Corona crisis is, in the opinion of Helmut Fickenscher, an infectious medical doctor from Kiel, a good time, especially before the summer holidays.
"The previously successful containment of the virus makes this justifiable and you can gain experience in the few weeks until the holidays, take countermeasures in dangerous situations and have the long holiday as a temporary safety buffer," said Fickenscher of the German Press Agency. "It is better than starting the new school year after the holidays without such a trial period without distance rules and then possibly getting into difficult situations."
Fickenscher is the director of the Institute for Infectious Medicine at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein and president of the German Association for Combating Viral Diseases.
In Schleswig-Holstein, from June 8th, all elementary school students are to be taught in their classes again without distance rules. Before the summer holidays beginning there on June 29, all students from all types of school should come together at least on a daily basis. From mid-June, Saxony-Anhalt is also targeting a full-class enterprise for elementary school students. In Baden-Württemberg this is planned from the end of June.
The question of what role children play in spreading the virus has not yet been fully resolved. A smaller study by the Berlin virologist Christian Drosten from the Charité had given indications that they can pass on the virus just like adults. Other researchers have found that children have a lower risk of infection.
At the start of the rapidly expanding pandemic, it was right to "be as careful as possible," said the expert. The situation has changed with the low number of new infections. It is now a matter of balancing the proportionality of restrictions and risks. "We have seen a lot of easing in the past few weeks and have done surprisingly well so far."