The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF require that schools across Europe must remain open and provide a safer environment for faculty, staff and children, because the new semester has begun and the highly infectious Delta variant is still in the area Dominant.
Hans Kruger, the head of the WHO, said: “The pandemic has caused the most catastrophic damage to education in history.” Europe area. “It is vital that classroom-based learning continues uninterrupted.”
Kruger said that although the pandemic continues, “safely educating children in a sports school environment” is “essential to their education, mental health and social skills” and must be the government’s “primary goal.”
44 of the 53 countries in the WHO European region closed their schools nationwide at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020. Although most of them reopened in September, they were in the fall and winter.
Throughout spring and early summer, large-scale absenteeism and frequent school suspensions in several countries continued. More than 1 million childrenIn late July, 14.3% of the age group in England were out of school due to Covid-related reasons-either by self-isolation or because their school was closed.
Kruger said in a joint statement with the regional deputy director: “We encourage all countries to keep schools open and urge all schools to take measures throughout the new school year to minimize the risk of Covid-19 and the risk of the spread of the variant.” Philippe Cori of the United Nations European and Central Asian Children’s Fund.
The two organizations stated that teachers and other school staff must be the main target group of the national vaccination program, adding that all children 12 years and older with underlying health problems should also be vaccinated.
They suggested that the school environment should also be made safer by improving classroom ventilation, minimizing class size, maintaining physical distance rules, and regularly testing students and staff.
“The pandemic is not over yet,” Corey said. “Children and adolescents can no longer take the risk of one year of interruption in their studies. [They] Has been the silent victim of the pandemic, and the most marginalized people have been hit hardest. “
He said that the school is “a learning, safe and entertaining place at the core of our community.” “When they are closed, children will miss opportunities to study and be with friends, and may experience violence at home. We must ensure that they reopen and stay open safely.”
The organization stated that the highly transmitted Delta variant adds additional concerns and complexity to the new school year. The organization stated that the continued high incidence of the virus in the community makes it more likely to spread in schools.
Kruger said: “Vaccination is our best line of defense against the virus, while continuing to follow the public health and social measures we know, including testing, sequencing, tracking, isolation and quarantine.”
“In order to end the pandemic, we must quickly and fairly expand vaccination in all countries, including supporting vaccine production and sharing,” he said. The data “clearly show” that full vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of serious illness and death.
The two organizations announced a set of eight recommendations, including ensuring that schools are “the last place to close and the first to reopen”, implement effective testing, risk reduction and vaccination strategies, and protect the psychological and social well-being of children.
Teachers in the area emphasized the importance of these suggestions. Milena Maric, a middle school math teacher from Belgrade, Serbia, said: “In the past two years, the words’Covid-19′ and’online education’ have marked our lives.”
“Serbia’s school system adapts quickly. But students lack continuity, social interaction, collaborative work, real-time sharing of ideas, and no technical communication. I know that the only way to get rid of this situation is to continue to comply with the measures to prevent the spread of the virus, if we are all Educators get vaccinated.”
