A single positive case is now enough to close a nursery school class. This is what the latest health protocol published on February 1 by the Ministry of Education. In other words, if a kindergarten student tests positive for covid-19, the other students in his class will be considered as contact cases, which will result in de facto its closure.

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Seven days at home

“The appearance of a confirmed case among the students implies that the other students in the class are identified as contacts at risk.“, underlines the ministry in its”Frequently Asked Questions“updated on 1^er February.

Concretely, all children in the class will therefore be asked to “stay home for seven days“, which amounts to a closure of the class over the period, says the ministry.

No closure if the teacher is positive

The rule does not apply for teachers, since they wear masks. Thus, the appearance of a confirmed case among teachers does not imply that the students in the class are considered to be contacts at risk. On condition that the teacher wears a category 1 general public mask, such as those provided by the national education system.

Primary and secondary scrutinize variants

Likewise, in primary and secondary schools, where wearing a mask is compulsory, the appearance of a confirmed case among teachers or students does not automatically lead to risky contacts in the classroom.

But an exception must be taken into account: if it is established that it is one of the variants of the coronavirus, more contagious, the concerned class will now be closed after a single case. Until now, it took three infected people to decide to close a class.

Two meters away from the canteen

Another change introduced by the new protocol concerns school canteens. A distance of two meters between groups of students is now required, against one meter previously.