The World Health Organization announced Friday that some conditions require conducting Covid-19 tests in schools to avoid closing them, and also to reduce the "harmful" effects of distance education.
In a joint statement with UNICEF and UNESCO, Hans Kluge, Director of the European Department of the World Health Organization, said, “The summer months provide a valuable opportunity for governments to put in place the right set of measures that help avoid resorting to school closures while maintaining low infection rates.”
He added, “School closures, as we have witnessed, have harmful effects on the education and mental and social well-being of our children and youth.”
Kluge, who has repeatedly called on countries in the European region of the World Health Organization to address the health effects associated with distance education, stressed that “we cannot allow the pandemic to steal children’s education and development.”
According to the new recommendations published on Friday, priority should be given in school tests to children with acute respiratory symptoms, "whatever the degree of severity", and if they belong to groups at risk.
The World Health Organization also indicated that asymptomatic contacts should be tested.
The organization said: "It does not recommend conducting any tests in schools where no cases of coronavirus infection have been detected."
The WHO´s Europe department is responsible for 53 countries and regions, in addition to some countries in Central Asia.
For UN agencies, school closures "should only be considered as a last resort" when there is an uncontrollable outbreak.
