The government of New Caledonia announced on Monday February 7 a reduced health protocol for the start of the school year on February 14, despite a peak in the epidemic expected at this time, taking into account the lesser danger of the Omicron variant.
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“
The watchword is a classic return to school for all students, without half-groups, or gauges and with simplified protocols
”, declared during a press conference Isabelle Champmoreau, member of the collegial government in charge. teaching, highlighting the fact that Omicron "
(did not cause) serious cases in children
".
In New Caledonia, 65,890 pupils from kindergarten to high school will return to class on February 14, at the end of the long southern summer holidays.
Affected by the Omicron variant, the archipelago, where the central government triggered a state of health emergency last week, is experiencing an epidemic wave of Covid-19, the peak of which should be reached at the same time, mid-February, according to the Department of Health Affairs (DAS).
The incidence rate is currently 2,792 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with no increase in hospital pressure.
“
In terms of screening, we have made it as simple as possible for the parents and especially for the children.
(…) Parents are advised to only test children when they are symptomatic
”, also indicated Isabelle Champmoreau.
She also recommended that there be “no
more class closure thresholds, the general principle being the maintenance of public service
”.
Wearing a mask will not be compulsory for indoor kindergarten and primary students, but only for those in middle and high schools as well as for all staff.
Read alsoCovid-19: masks, tests... ways to ease the health protocol at school
Long spared by Covid, New Caledonia was brutally hit between September and November 2021 by the epidemic, which is experiencing a new wave under the effect of the contagious Omicron variant.
A total of 284 people died of Covid on the South Pacific archipelago, whose vaccination rate amounts to 65.56% of the total population (270,000 inhabitants), or 76.78% of the vaccinable population.
The Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that Omicron remained "
a dangerous virus
", even if it causes "
less severe symptoms than Delta
" (the variant hitherto dominant, editor's note ).
