SCHOOL: Jean-Michel Blanquer hoped that the teachers could be vaccinated as quickly as possible “in March at the latest if we manage to do it before that would be good”
French children and adolescents will go to school on Monday “as planned”, Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer said on Sunday, adding that Covid-19 screening tests will “be deployed even more strongly” in high schools.
“The children will go to school tomorrow (Monday) as planned”, he assured on BFM TV, promising a return “according to the reinforced health protocol”.
Concerns about children’s return to school
“We will deploy the tests even more strongly,” added the minister, while concerns point to an outbreak of the epidemic with the return of children to school and the detection in France of two variants of the Covid identified in the United Kingdom. United and South Africa.
These two strains, explained the Director-General of Health Jérôme Salomon to the Journal du Dimanche, “affect” more young people. “We must therefore be very attentive to the school and university environment”. All the more so, added Jérôme Salomon, that “the children return from different places, in France or abroad”, which can “reshuffle the cards of the epidemiological situation”.
Asked about these statements, Jean-Michel Blanquer indicated that the health protocol could be “accentuated” in the educational world. “We are always capable of adjustments in the future if necessary,” said the minister. “We are very attentive, we remain vigilant”, he insisted, “but we can perfectly organize the return to school tomorrow”.
Door open to measures differentiated by region
Regarding the goal of bringing high school students back to 100% face-to-face on January 20, He assured that the “maximum” would be done “so that this deadline is met”, depending, “obviously”, of the figures of the epidemic . The minister also left the door open to differentiated measures according to the regions: “If things were to get worse in certain departments, we could take specific measures. At this stage, however, it is not being considered, ”he replied.
Jean-Michel Blanquer also wanted the teachers to be able to be vaccinated as quickly as possible “in March at the latest, if we manage to do it before that would be good”. In addition, when asked about the government’s vaccination strategy, sharply criticized in recent days for its slowness, he underlined the “very great attention” paid “to the consent of people”.
