Are schools privileged places for transmission of the virus?
The issue has regularly come to the fore since the start of the epidemic.
Sometimes sources of contamination, sometimes secure areas ... At the rate of closures and reinforced measures, no certainty seemed to emerge.
Read also: How Jean-Michel Blanquer passed between the drops of confinement
It would seem that schools "
do not play the role of amplifier
" of the epidemic, according to an article by the Pasteur Institute conducted by Professor Arnaud Fontanet published in the
British medical Journa
l.
"
The cases in schools simply reflect the prevalence within local communities,
" continues the article, which recalls that children under 10 are "
probably less contagious
" than their elders.
"
Nevertheless, schools can contribute to transmission within communities
", qualify the authors.
Schools more important than ever for children and their parents
Around the world, 31 countries have chosen to completely close their schools, 48 have adopted adapted timetables.
However, the article recalls that the measures to close schools have consequences far beyond the health dimension.
An English study underlined last January "
the increase in anxiety disorders and suicide attempts
" in children and adolescents, who suffer from confinements and disturbances in school rhythms.
Read also: Will teachers have to perform saliva tests on their students?
In addition to the social and mental development of children, school is - in France as in the rest of the world - a place of physical and food security.
For many families, it ensures a balanced meal per day for children, and keeps them away from possible family violence.
And even for other families, closing schools amounts to "
parental loss of income related to childcare or supervision of online learning
."
"
These economic effects disproportionately affect women,
" notes the article, which concludes that "school
closures increase existing social inequalities
."
The article ends with an exhortation to strengthen barrier gestures within establishments, and also calls for the generalization of saliva tests in schools, a measure implemented in France on Monday, March 1.