In St. Petersburg schools, students in grades 1-4 will complete the second quarter program ahead of schedule. In connection with the outbreak of influenza, schoolchildren will go on early vacation from December 20 this year.
Vice-governor of the city Irina Potekhina on her personal page in VKontakte informs, that on December 14 a meeting was held with the Chief Sanitary Doctor of St. Petersburg, Natalia Semyonovna Bashketova, as well as with directors of schools and kindergartens. During the meeting, the need to contain the infectious disease was discussed and a number of anti-epidemiological measures were taken, in particular, the early completion of the educational process in the lower grades.
Potekhina noted that the coronavirus was more dangerous for adults. With the flu, everything is different: more than half of the cases are children. Petersburg, their number exceeded 70 thousand people. In 71 schools, 244 classes have already been transferred to a remote format, but the incidence rate continues to grow. According to the report of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of St. Petersburg, the leading group among the sick is from 7 to 14 years old. When monitoring ARVI pathogens, a twofold increase in the proportion of influenza was revealed.
The head of the city said that a number of measures have been taken that will allow schoolchildren to spend the New Year holidays at festive events, and not in bed with a temperature. Primary school students will be able to leave for early holidays from December 20, while the primary school will continue to work in the mode of additional education, that is, parents will be able to bring their children to classes provided there are no signs of illness. Students in grades 5-11 will continue their education as usual. If the percentage of cases in the class reaches 20%, it is transferred to a remote format for at least a week. It is noted that kindergartens will continue to work, but entrance control will be introduced to prevent the spread of infection among children and employees of the institution.
Potekhina also noted that at the slightest suspicion, the introduction of a blended learning format should be used. The City Distance Learning Portal provides lessons on all topics of the school curriculum. Thus, children can use them for self-study during illness.
According to the mayor, there are no plans to cancel New Year’s events for young students. Christmas trees that do not have time to hold before December 21 will be held according to a pre-approved schedule.
Formerly online publication Uchitelskaya Gazeta reported that Lipetsk schoolchildren go into quarantine until the end of the year. Due to the increase in the incidence, the region is returning to the algorithm of work that was in effect during the coronavirus.
