After a chaotic 2020 pandemic, European countries began a heterogeneous return to school throughout this year. In early 2021, when face-to-face classes were scheduled to resume after the Christmas holidays, the spread of a third wave of COVID-19 delayed those plans, so the continent has seen a return to classrooms at different speeds.
The vast majority of countries reopened classes in January and February, however, others postponed it until May and June.
Spain, for example, returned to school on January 7, when some 19,700 daily cases were recorded amid the full expansion of the third wave that lasted until mid-February, with a peak of 107,000 cases on February 10.
By contrast, UK secondary and university schools did not return until March, while some German states such as North Rhine-Westphalia did not return to face-to-face classes until June.
A sustained decline in coronavirus cases
Today, with the progress of a successful vaccination campaign, all European students have already returned to the classroom. And, despite having allowed greater contact between minors from different homes, the experience leaves a positive result that is reflected in the decrease in new daily infections in all the countries of the Old Continent. All countries have registered a drastic drop in the number of daily infections.
From January 7 to mid-June, the UK has gone from almost 60,000 daily cases to 8,000; Germany from 19,000 to 1,000, Spain from 19,700 to 2,000; Holland from 8,000 to 1,000; Belgium from 2,500 to 573; Portugal from 9,000 to 750; Italy from 18,400 to 1,892 and France from 21,000 to 2,800.
With the exception of the peak caused by the third wave in mid-February, Europe registers a progressive decrease in the incidence of COVID-19 during 2021. The outlook is completely opposite to that of 2020.
Strict safety protocols and vaccines: the keys to European success
The lower incidence of COVID-19 in Europe is explained by several factors that have played an important role in protecting minors in schools. The first is the rapid advance of a vaccination campaign in which teachers were part of the priority population to receive the drug. Thus, 70% of teachers in the Community of Madrid had received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 26.
The objective of the European Union (EU) is that by mid-July 70% of the adult population living in the twenty-seven countries that are part of the institution will be vaccinated. So far, 50% of the adult population has received at least a first dose, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, recently. Meanwhile, 100 million inhabitants of the EU are already fully vaccinated.
Another factor that explains the decrease in cases in schools is the anti-COVID protocols that are in place in all countries and that have a special focus on schools. With some exceptions, the use of face masks has been mandatory in all European countries during 2021. This use has also been mandatory in schools, with the intention of protecting children and teachers.
The protocols also included keeping the classrooms ventilated, in addition to trying to create distance between teachers, students and parents. Precisely, this has been one of the greatest challenges of educational centers, since children naturally tend to want to play and hang out with others, so teachers have had to make an effort to maintain a minimum distance.
The use of a hybrid system has been an option implemented by some European regions to gradually return to a completely face-to-face operation. For example, in Italy kindergarten and primary school students returned to the classroom in January, while the distance education system was maintained for secondary and university students for a few more weeks. In this way, a more staggered return was achieved that allowed greater control against possible infections.
Tracking COVID-19 Cases in Schools
Another effective way has been to carry out tests to manage coronavirus cases efficiently. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Ministry of Education has asked secondary and university students to take a COVID-19 test before returning to class on June 7, when the mid-academic year holidays ended.
In that regard, the United Kingdom has a screening program for possible coronavirus cases since they resumed secondary and university education classes in March. This system has helped them identify sources of contagion and isolate them before it becomes a zone of infection. Thus, schools in England have carried out more than 50 million tests since January.
The ability of the authorities to manage COVID outbreaks in schools has been essential throughout this scheme. In the case of Spain, the authorities have acted quickly to confine and isolate schools in which COVID outbreaks have been recorded. The response protocol, in case there was an outbreak, has consisted of immediately closing the school for a few days and following up on those infected. And, while the outbreak was controlled, students would attend classes from home electronically.
All these protocols, vaccination campaign, distance education plans and response programs have allowed Europe to have a safe return to classes. The distancing measures have helped reduce infections and, although there have been specific outbreaks of COVID in European schools, the data shows a significant decrease in the number of daily infections.
A few days before the summer officially begins on June 21, the continent seems to start preparing to say goodbye to the ‘new normal’ to return once and for all to the longed for ‘normality’.
