Continuum of risk

There is little confidence that public health protocols will be maintained in schools.

Schools should be open or re-opened as soon as possible despite Covid-19, the United Nations Children’s Fund chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement last week. She stressed that closing schools must be a last resort measure after all other options have been considered, and assessing the risk of transmission at the local level should be a key determinant in decisions on school operations. The World Health Organisation has also urged policymakers to be guided by a risk-based approach and has released a new checklist of 38 essential actions to support school re-opening and preparations for Covid-19 resurgences or similar crises. Data should drive decisions to re-open schools and the safety measures in place, said Dr Ruediger Krech, the UN health agency’s health promotion director.