Confusion about mega-cluster at school in Austria: 27 teachers Corona-positive - or not?

At a school in Linz, 27 teachers are said to have tested positive for the corona virus.

The Ministry of Education gives other figures, the school is silent.

Linz - Austria applied the Corona handbrake - and shortly afterwards loosened it again a little.

The role backwards, however, only affects the nocturnal exit restriction, in many other areas of life strict corona rules have been in effect since Monday (November 15), including in schools.

The Education Directorate had ordered all classes in which a student tests positive to be sent home.

Unvaccinated pupils should be instructed in "Distance Learning", as it is called in Austria.

According to

, 21 classes at a total of 18 schools in Upper Austria were closed on the first day of the new regulation.

Corona cluster at school in Linz: The numbers of infected people diverge

The Borg Linz upper secondary school was hit worst - however, the virus is particularly rampant in the teaching staff there.

According to a "medical source" that the Austrian portal cites, 27 teachers there tested positive for the corona virus.

The Ministry of Education in Austria, on the other hand, speaks of “only” eight cases among students and teachers.

But what does the corona cluster mean - provided it is officially confirmed - for the Linz school?

“The health authorities decide how this is handled now,” explains Herwig Kerschbaumer from the Austrian education department at

.

Corona outbreak in Borg Linz: "It is possible that the school will be closed"

If the school stays open, the remaining teachers would have to represent the hours of the infected or teachers from other schools would have to help out, says Kerschbaumer.

"But it can also be that the school will be closed, we have no information about this yet."

Kerschbaumer believes that a complete school closure is unrealistic at the moment - especially since the regulation of sending entire classes home in the event of a positive PCR test only takes effect when students are affected, not teachers.

According to the report, nobody answered the phone at the Borg Linz upper secondary school on Tuesday (November 16).

It is not the first time that a corona cluster has caused a stir in Austria: 80 people recently tested positive on a German cruise ship in Vienna.