All children over six years old will wear a mask in class even if they are in a bubble group

All students over six years of age will have to wear the mask in class even if they are part of one of the so-called stable or bubble coexistence groups (whose members cannot mix with members of other classes) from September. This has been agreed on Thursday by the Government and the autonomous communities in the Education Sector Conference, according to sources present at the meeting.

• Schools will only close if the transmission of the virus gets out of control in several coexistence groups or classes

The measure, with which the educational authorities respond to the scenario of increased infections that surrounds the beginning of the course, has not been rejected by any autonomy, although the Basque Country has abstained in the final vote, as it has been doing in the In recent months in the same forum, considering that teaching is the exclusive competence of its Executive, and a spokesman has assured that they will fix their position this Friday. And the support of Catalonia has finally been ambiguous. Although according to the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, and four sources present at the meeting, the Minister of Education has agreed with the measure, the Department of Health has specified hours later that where the incidence of the epidemic is low, the Catalan students will only wear a mask from the age of 12. “We must not seek disagreement with the Sector Conference. We propose this. Unfortunately, in almost all areas the epidemiological situation is high risk, so the mask will also be worn from the age of six. Yes, there are areas that are better, and the obligation will be from the age of 12 ”, said the Secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, reportsJosep Catà .

The agreement makes autonomic regulations more homogeneous at the point most sensitive to the epidemic. And it means generalizing the formula that two communities, La Rioja and Cantabria, already contemplated in their protocols.

The meeting also stressed the importance of taking the children's temperature daily, although sources assure that in this case there will be diversity, since in the meeting it has been contemplated that the measurements can be carried out by both families (in which case there will be a responsible declaration, a document in which the parents commit to fulfill the commitment), as the center at the beginning of the school day. Some schools have already decided to use both ways to control it.

The Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, explains the measures of the return to classes, this Thursday.

The Government, which has been represented by the Minister of Education, Isabel Celaá, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, and the Minister of Territorial Policy, Carolina Darias, and the communities have also reiterated their willingness to guarantee the maximum possible presence during the course, especially up to second year of high school. At the end of the meeting, Celaá has claimed the work of her ministry since June: "We have worked together respecting the competences of the autonomous communities, this is how we understand governance," Celaá said after recalling that this Thursday was the sixth sector.

Illa has underlined five of the points of the agreement: maintaining a distance of 1.5 meters as a general rule; mandatory mask from the age of six; frequent hand washing (five times a day); a ventilation of the classrooms as frequently as possible (if possible the classes should take place "with open windows and doors", he said), and taking the temperature, through the modality (by the family or the center), that he chooses each community.

Fragment of the appearance of the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, this Thursday.

To this must be added other actions, such as quarantines for all members of a bubble group in case a student tests positive. In the event that the infected person is not part of a stable coexistence group, only those people who are considered "close contact" by the health service studying the case will be quarantined. Health must be protected, Illa said, "but also the fundamental right to education."

"Increase in cases"

The minister has highlighted the work that the communities have done in the elaboration of the protocols, but has affirmed that before the beginning of the course, in a context of "increasing cases", it was appropriate to seek a "lowest common denominator" before the beginning of the course, in line with the package of measures, such as the ban on smoking in the street, agreed in mid-August by the Government and the autonomies. "If the agreed measures are well complied with," he added, "we will have very few outbreaks."

The Health Minister has stated that carrying out massive PCR on all teachers and even less on the educational community is not an efficient formula, and that therefore it has not been recommended to the communities.

Minister Celaá has indicated with respect to parents who do not want to take their children: “In relation to absenteeism we have commissioned a legal report that will be made available to the autonomous communities. We have to remind families that education is a fundamental right of students ”.

"I can't conceive it"

At the other extreme of social behavior, Illa has pointed out that the possible sanctions to parents who take their children to class knowing that they have symptoms compatible with the covid, are the responsibility of the communities. “But I cannot conceive of this happening, that someone takes their child, putting the health of their child and the other students and staff at risk. There is everything, but I cannot conceive it ”, she stated. Illa has referred to the fact that there are alternatives for these parents, but neither he nor Celaá have specified what type of coverage the parents who must stay at home due to the quarantine of their children will have. This same Thursday, hours before, both the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, and the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, have lowered their expectations about paid leave or leave to care for a child in isolation. Calviño recalled that any new measure has “an impact in terms of costs, expenses or debt”, while Díaz referred to the Mecuida plan, which allows the adaptation or reduction of working hours to workers who accredit care duties as a consequence of the covid- 19.

Follow EL PAÍS EDUCACIÓN on Twitter or Facebook

Sign up for the EL PAÍS Education Newsletter