Covid-19: the Scientific Council recommends increasing screening at school

In an opinion made public by our colleagues from around the world, the Scientific Council issued new health recommendations to fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, especially in schools. And these differ greatly from the sanitary protocol currently in force for children and adolescents.

Today, and primary, the principle in force is “A case, a class closure”. This has already resulted in the closure of approximately 3 000 classes, according to the latest assessment carried out by the National Education, dated September 13, 2021. Students whose class is closed continue their learning at home, at a distance.

Increase screening to close fewer classes

The Scientific Council advocates a completely different strategy. Contrary to the current health protocol, experts recommend greatly increase the frequency of tests (once a week for each student), and to send home only students declared positive. A measure that would, according to scientists, leave many more classes open. But who needs a rise in saliva tests carried out within schools. For now, the Ministry of National Education has not disclosed new directives in this direction, limiting itself to declaring that “The tests are always free in schools”.

Covid-19 and schools: health protocol in force, extra-curricular activities

For more than a year, the Covid-19 epidemic has disrupted our lives and those of our children. What are the consequences for the reception of the youngest in the crèche or with the nursery assistant? What school protocol is applied at school? How to protect children? Find all our info. 

Health protocol: what applies in schools since September 2

On Sunday August 22, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer announced in an interview that the level 2 health protocol will apply in schools from September 2. The detail.

As the start of the school year is fast approaching, Jean-Michel Blanquer is trying to reassure French teachers, parents and students by specifying the health protocol that will apply in establishments across France. After asserting that the 2 level of the health protocol, published in July, would be the one put into force, the minister specified that the level adopted in each establishment to be lowered or raised according to the local evolution of the epidemic.

Face-to-face for all, with a mask  

By setting up level 2 of the health protocol at the start of the school year, the lessons will be given face-to-face for all pupils from kindergarten to high school in all establishments in France. However, to fight against the spread of Covid-19 in schools, colleges and high schools, the ventilation of the premises, the disinfection of surfaces, even in the canteen, several times a day, as well as the washing of hands, will be reinforced. The Minister of National Education also wishes to generalize CO2 sensors in establishments, “In partnership with local communities”.

Concerning wearing a mask, it will be compulsory in classrooms for staff and students from elementary school to final year. Fortunately, the mask outdoors will not be imposed, except in the event of an epidemic rebound and measures locally taken by the prefects. And sports ? It can be practiced both outdoors and indoors, without a mask, with the only conditions: the application to the extent possible of social distancing and the prohibition of contact sports.

Massive vaccination campaigns

In his interview, Jean-Michel Blanquer insisted on one point: the health pass will not be required for students, neither for parents, nor for teachers, in order to keep the school accessible to all. However, he confirmed to institute vaccination campaigns from September to encourage students over 12 years old as well as school staff to be vaccinated. The minister confided that « dyearsall middle and high schools in France, students and staff will have access to the vaccine, near or within their establishment ». He also announced free testing campaigns in schools, with “A target of 600 weekly saliva tests”.  According to the minister, « more than 55% of 12-17 year olds have already received at least one dose ” vaccine.

Finally, the minister confided that middle and high school students who will be declared contact cases but who will not be vaccinated will have to spend seven days in solitary confinement and follow the distance learning courses, while the courses for vaccinated students will continue face-to-face. This procedure “ applies to all secondary school pupils, including sixth grade pupils who are not old enough to be vaccinated ”, specified the minister. As for schools, the health protocol will impose the closure of the class as soon as the first case of Covid-19 appears, as well as the switch to distancing.

Health protocol: the summary table

Do I need a Health Pass for extra-curricular activities for children?

After having managed the start of the new school year, parents are interested in their children’s extracurricular activities. And registrations are starting. Which children are exempt from health passes? Who are those who should have one? And for parents attending their children’s class or show, what will they need?

Children under 12 exempt

Good news for the youngest! Children under 12 will be able to play sports or a cultural activity without having to show a health pass.

A pass for over 12s

On the other hand, children over 12 years old must have a health pass from September 30 if they want to practice a sporting or cultural activity. By health pass, the Ministry of Sports means: proof of vaccination, of recovery after contracting Covid-19 or even a negative test. This health pass will be essential for activities practiced indoors, as for those practiced outdoors.

An exception for music

Whatever the child’s age, the health pass will not be necessary to take courses at the conservatory. But, if outings are organized during the year in auditoriums or performance halls, the pass will be necessary.

What about parents?

For them, no exception, the health pass will be compulsory both to attend sports lessons for their children and shows during the year, or at the end of the year. So, for those who are not yet vaccinated, you know what you have to do …

Covid-19: update on saliva tests

Saliva tests are offered in schools to detect quickly and isolate if necessary. Are they compulsory? Are they free? Update on the protocol. 

Are the tests compulsory?

The saliva test helps prevent the risk of contamination in nursery and elementary schools. “Screenings in schools are done on a voluntary basis, and with the authorization of parents for minors ” assured Secretary of State Adrien Taquet at the beginning of February on franceinfo. A standard letter is sent to the families so that they can give their consent or not. 

Are the names of positive cases communicated?

Once the samples have been taken, the laboratories communicate the results to schools, but only the figures. In the event of a positive test, families are notified individually. It is up to them to take their responsibilities by keeping their children at home.

Who performs these Covid-19 saliva tests?

The Ministry of National Education has ensured that the samples are only taken by authorized persons, under the authority of the laboratories.

How do they take place?

“The salivary sample is taken by simple sputum, by bronchial sputum or by pipetting saliva”, specifies the High Authority of Health. For younger children, under the age of six, saliva can be collected using a pipette. Much simpler than nasopharyngeal tests therefore. As for their reliability, it is 85%, against 92% for nasopharyngeal RT-PCR tests.

The samples will be supervised by laboratory staff intervening in schools. Agents from the various rectorates and anti-Covid mediators can be mobilized as reinforcements. Children will only be tested after parental consent. And parents will receive results within a maximum of 48 hours.

Are saliva tests free for everyone?

These tests are carried out on a voluntary basis, with the consent of the parents for minors. They are completely free for those under 18. therefore, But they are not free for everyone. Indeed, teachers who perform a saliva test must pay one euro for each test. Just like the major high school students. Why this lump sum payment of one euro? Asked by our colleagues from BFMTV, the Minister of National Education explained: “For adults the rule of the Primary Health Insurance Fund applies, which apparently is quite difficult to change. One euro is deducted from the Vitale card, on the following service. “

Are saliva tests painful for children?

Doctors keep repeating it: screening is primordial for break the chains of transmission of Covid-19 and isolate the sick. So far, the tests PCR swab did not favor screening in the youngest, the parents were not in favor. They feared it would be, at best irritating to their child, at worst painful. We understand them! Since February 11, 2021, the High Authority for Health has given its favorable opinion to saliva tests. And there, that changes everything! More suitable for young children than PCR tests, saliva tests are not painful and are above all less invasive than a swab in the nose.

Too long waiting times

To break the chain of propagation of the Covid-19 virus, we must react quickly. However, schools and teachers’ unions complain of a certain slowness. Depending on the case, sometimes you have to wait more than 10 days for testing to be organized in a school after the detection of several cases of Covid-19. Ditto for the receipt of forms to be completed by parents to obtain consent. The “mammoth” remains difficult to mobilize quickly …

Covid-19: nurseries are not places at risk of contagion

How much do very young children contribute to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2? A recent study shows that these do not seem to be super-propagators, and that nurseries are not major centers of infection.

While the health protocol has been strengthened in schools given the progress in the dissemination of so-called “British”, “South African” and “Brazilian” variants in the territory, the question remains as to nurseries: are they places of the spread of COVID-19? Teams of French doctors and researchers * wished to answer this question by analyzing the role of very young children in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in nurseries that remained open during the first confinement. The results of their study, published in the journal The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, are rather reassuring.

This “Covicreche” study, promoted and funded by the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), shows that the virus did not circulate much in nurseries under the specific conditions applied during the first confinement, that is to say. say a strict containment of the rest of the population and the strengthening of barrier measures. And this including in a group of children considered to be more at risk, such as infants dependent on staff or parents at risk of infection, because caregivers continue to travel. “The type of daycare in a crèche in these conditions does not seem to be responsible for an increased risk for the children and the staff who take care of them. “, Say the researchers.

A riskier exposure at home than at the nursery?

The frequency of the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (seroprevalence) was studied between June 4 and July 3, 2020 in children received during the first national confinement, from March 15 to May 9, 2020. The goal being to retrospectively estimate the number of previous infections. The results of their rapid serological test, carried out on a few drops of blood, were also communicated to the parents in less than 15 minutes. In total, 327 children and 197 nursery staff participated in this study: among the 22 nurseries studied, 20 nurseries were in the Ile-de-France region and 2 nurseries located in Rouen and Annecy, in regions with less viral circulation.

In addition, twelve nurseries were hospitals (including 7 at the AP-HP) and 10 were managed by the City of Paris or the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis. The results showed that the seroprevalence in children was low, at 4,3% (14 positive children from 13 different nurseries), as well as for the personnel of the nurseries: 7,7%, or 14 members of the personnel of the nurseries. nursery positive out of 197. A prevalence “similar to that of a group of 164 hospital staff not professionally exposed to patients and / or children. “, Add the researchers. Subsequently, all of the SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests carried out in children in June 2020 were found to be negative.

Regarding the HIV-positive children, the latter suggest, after carrying out an additional analysis, that these children were more likely to have been exposed at home to an adult with a confirmed infection with COVID-19 and to have at least one HIV positive parent. “The hypothesis of intra-family contamination remains more plausible than transmission within nurseries. “, Therefore estimates the scientific team. This nonetheless specifies that it is not possible to extrapolate these results to other situations or periods of viral circulation without carrying out additional studies. “But they are consistent with the knowledge on the place of very young children in the circulation of SARS-CoV-2. », She concludes.

* Teams from the pediatric departments of the Jean-Verdier AP-HP Hospital, the Clinical Research Unit and the Microbiology Department of the Avicenne AP-HP Hospital, the Universities of Sorbonne Paris Nord and Sorbonne University, as well as than Inserm.

COVID-19: Children are more at risk of infection at home than at school

American researchers have found that schools do not represent the place most at risk of contamination for children thanks to the wearing of masks. The most dangerous events happen to be social gatherings outside of these, for example with family.

Just like adults, children can be carriers of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus but it is difficult to precisely assess their role in the dynamics of the COVID-19 epidemic. Indeed, some studies hypothesize that they are as contaminating as adults while others indicate that they would be less, given that they are often little or no symptomatic of COVID-19. A study conducted by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought to answer another recurring question regarding this population: where are the children. most at risk of contracting the disease?

Study published on CDC website indicates children are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 at a party or family reunion rather than in class or daycare. “Our findings are that childcare or school attendance in the two weeks preceding a COVID test was not associated with the infection,” explains Prof. Charlotte Hobbs. “Infected children were more likely to have had close contact with someone infected with COVID-19, and it was most often a family member, so family contact compared to a contact at school appear to be more important in the risk of a child becoming infected. “

With family or friends, “individuals let their guard down”

The study shows that compared to children who tested negative, children who tested positive for the disease were also more likely to have attended rallies and to have received visitors at home. One reason explains this finding: researchers point out that parents or guardians of infected children were less likely to wear masks during these gatherings than teachers and staff in a school or daycare. “The strict and continuous implementation of measures aimed at reducing transmission of COVID-19 in schools is vital, as is continued adherence to health guidelines at the individual and family level, ”adds Professor Hobbs.

Thus, classrooms would be more structured environments while extracurricular social activitieswould be more at risk because people tend to be less vigilant. The researchers therefore emphasize the importance of wearing a mask in all contexts. According to Dr. Paul Byers, epidemiologist who contributed to the study, the latter “highlights the known risks of exposure to COVID-19 associated with social gatherings where individuals let their guard down. We must apply the same level of consistency at all levels and in all public contexts, and now is the time to really limit social interactions outside the family home. “

The researchers also add that even if vaccination campaigns have started in many countries, parents, as well as schools and daycares, should not let their guard down because the vaccines available are only intended for adults. In France, the HAS recommends vaccination from the age of 18 (during the last phase of the campaign) because of the low inclusion of children in ongoing clinical trials. “It is important to protect our children from infection to keep the schools and daycares open. We know their vital nature for our children developmentally, academically and socially. », Concludes the scientific team.

Masks: advice from a speech therapist so that children understand the teacher

From the age of 6, children must now wear a mask. This can interfere with their understanding and learning to read. Stéphanie Bellouard-Masson, speech therapist at the referent center for learning disabilities at the Nantes University Hospital, gives her advice. Also to be followed by parents or other adults, as soon as we are masked when we speak.

Le wearing a mask, if it effectively protects against the risks of Covid-19, also has some drawbacks, as it makes understanding and fluency more complicated, especially in a noisy environment.

What consequences for the child?

For Stéphanie Bellouard-Masson, speech therapist, the risk is in particular to attend a slower language development et less precise, especially in children with a language delay, whose autistic children. The reason : children imitate the sounds produced by adults. Gold, with the mask, sounds can be distorted. Another concern: children can no longer help themselves by lip reading.

How to help the children?

The speech therapist offers teachers to:

— Speak more slowly et stronger.

— Face the light, to be better seen. With altered sound, facial and eye expressions are even more important to be understood well by children

— Get the child’s attention, to be sure to make eye contact.

— Mimic, exaggerate the gestures, the intonation of the voice and the expression of the eyes.