The Omicron variant should herald the end of the green class model

The green classroom model was born out of a real need to provide academic and social continuum to students, and to improve their mental well-being in the challenging days of the corona virus.

But in the days of the contagious strain, activating the model may accelerate its spread like wildfire

Dr. Avi Magid and Dr. Golan Benisti

29/12/2021

Wednesday, 29 December, 2021, 04:49 Updated: 04:57

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The green class model may lead to the risk of infection (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The recent decisions of the Corona Cabinet, in view of the increase in morbidity and prevalence of variant Omicron, include distance learning in red and orange authorities, and the abolition of the green class model in schools in classes where a verified Zen student is present. This decision is very important for slowing down the rate of variant variation - but it is not enough.

According to the green class model, a student will be able to return to school after performing a PCR test and receiving a negative result, performing an antigen test before going to school every day from the seven days of the green class, and reporting negative results. This model allows for educational continuity to be maintained after long periods of closures, school breaks, and isolations, but on the other hand may significantly accelerate the spread of the disease, as students who became infected with the verified patient at the time of exposure but have not yet been identified by PCR and antigen testing , Will come to class and continue the chain of infection.

This scenario is true for all variants, however in the case of the Omicron variant, which infects very quickly, at an unobserved rate since the onset of the epidemic (infection coefficient of between 3 and 4), activating the green class model may accelerate the variant spread like wildfire.

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Currently, the green class model works as long as the first verified in the class has not been diagnosed as infected with the Omicron variant, a diagnosis that lasts several days since its diagnosis as verified. Let's think for a moment about a class in which a student infected with the Omicron variant was diagnosed as coronary, in the first stage without a diagnosis of Omicron. In the first stage, other students who managed to catch up with him and will not be identified as verified by the PCR test will come to the school, and will continue to catch up with other students and staff at a high rate. With the arrival of the original student's omicron diagnosis, the whole class will indeed go into isolation and move on to distance learning, but it will be too late, where many students, school staff and their families will be infected.

The green classroom model was born out of a real need to provide academic and social continuum to students, and improve their mental well-being in these challenging days, and stopping it will lead to longer isolations, interrupting academic and social continuum, and even make it difficult for parents. A verified patient in the classroom can significantly reduce the rate of infection, and help us get through the fifth wave better.

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• Corona virus

• Omicron variant

• schools