With just two weeks to go until the new school term starts the Ministry of Health has clarified that if three positive cases of coronavirus are detected at a school it will be considered an outbreak.
If that happens, the Health Authorities will carry out a risk assessment, the Centre will be informed of the measures to be taken and what happens next will depend on the result of the evaluation.
“In the event of an outbreak, an epidemiological team will determine whether it originated inside or outside the Centre. If the origin is inside, the risk of the entire Centre will be evaluated and a 14-day quarantine applied to the children and the teachers who’ve been in close contact with those infected and the environment at the Centre will be studied. Beyond that, part of the Centre may be closed and the corresponding quarantine applied. If there are different outbreaks not linked to each other and their transmission chain is not known, then the Centre would be closed,” explained Maria Antònia Font, General Director of Public Health.
Key points
“There are three key points: The stable coexistence of groups guarantee the cut off of transmission; Students should not go to school if they have a fever, cough or breathing difficulties and a temperature higher than 37.5º and Prevention measures must work," Font added.
The stable coexistence groups have proven their effectiveness in children's activities and camps this summer.