Wüst's first official act: Ignore warnings from doctors and scientists - abolish the obligation to wear masks in the classroom!

DUSSELDORF. For some time there has been a puzzling question as to whether or not masks are compulsory in the classroom in North Rhine-Westphalia. That was promised before the autumn holidays. Now that the new Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has been inaugurated, the decision has been made: the masks are falling – despite the explosively increasing incidences among children and young people and hundreds of school outbreaks that the Robert Koch Institute in Germany has identified . NRW School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) still claims that the schools are safe.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, schoolchildren will soon no longer have to wear mouth and nose protection in class. The mask requirement on the seats in the classroom will be abolished on November 2nd. This was announced by the NRW Ministry of Education on Thursday. The reason given was that there was no excessive increase in corona infections in schools. At the same time, the vaccination rate is increasing, for teachers it is even over 90 percent.

"The number of reported school breakouts increased again very significantly from the beginning of August to the beginning of October 2021."

With this, the Ministry of Education contradicts the Robert Koch Institute, which – nationwide – is registering an increasing incidence of infection in schools, even though there were autumn holidays in many federal states. “The number of reported school breakouts increased again very significantly from the beginning of August to the beginning of October 2021. So far, 758 school breaks have been reported for the last four weeks (reporting weeks 38-41/2021)" (although the last two weeks cannot yet be evaluated due to late registrations), the RKI wrote in its most recent weekly report.

The following applies in NRW from Monday: Pupils only have to continue to wear the mask in the rest of the building and when they leave their permanent seat. For the outdoor area, the mask requirement had been abolished some time ago. Masks are not compulsory for teachers as long as a minimum distance of 1.5 meters can be maintained.

In return, however, the quarantine rules in schools were tightened – slightly. If a corona case occurs in a class or course, the quarantine of students is extended to the person who can be proven to be infected and now also to the person sitting next to them. Fully vaccinated or recovered students with no symptoms are still exempt from quarantine. The usual corona tests in schools are to be continued according to previous plans: i.e. three corona self-tests per week in secondary schools and two PCR pool tests per week in primary and special schools.

Many associations, including doctors and scientists, had criticized the announced lifting of the mask requirement in class as risky and premature, as reported by News4teachers. Warning voices had also come from the political opposition, among other things, with reference to the rising incidence values ​​​​in children and adolescents.

“The development of the pandemic so far has shown that our schools are safe places. All students are tested closely and several times a week and of course our strict requirements for hygiene and infection protection continue to apply,” said School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) according to the announcement.

"We are giving our children and young people back another and important piece of normality."

“There is no excessive increase in the incidence of infection in our schools. At the same time, vaccination rates continue to rise, and among teachers it is even over 90 percent. And almost half of all schoolchildren over the age of twelve have already been fully vaccinated,” said Gebauer. In this situation, lifting the mask requirement at the seat is a responsible step. "We are giving our children and young people another and important piece of normality back," said the FDP politician. She thanked the students for their contribution to containing the pandemic and protecting the elderly.

The incidences among children and young people are almost everywhere in North Rhine-Westphalia over 100, in a number of cities and districts over 200. The district of Lippe reports a value of 310 for five to 14-year-olds, the district of Warendorf 334, the district of Minden- Lübbecke from 339. School only started again on Monday after the autumn holidays ended.

Teacher representatives reacted differently to the decision from the Ministry of Education. “Being able to remove the mask in the seat is undoubtedly a relief. However, it is important to continue to monitor the situation closely. Because the most important goal must be to enable as many schoolchildren as possible to take lessons continuously," said Stefan Behlau, state chairman of the NRW Association for Education and Training.

"Abolishing the mask requirement exposes everyone involved in school life to a high risk"

The Association of Teachers NRW criticized the decision as "highly risky". “The number of infections is currently increasing rapidly – ​​especially among children and young people. In the middle of this dangerous development, lifting the mask requirement in the classroom puts everyone involved in school life at high risk, »said the chairman, Sven Christoffer.

The NRW Philology Association, which represents the high school teachers, also called the decision risky at this point in time. “Presence teaching is important and necessary. And the number of infections is increasing rapidly. Experts warn that masks will become compulsory in schools. In the interests of the students, there must not be another autumn and winter with distance and alternating lessons," said Sabine Mistler, chairwoman. The end of the mask requirement comes too early.

The new Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), justified the measures. "Our philosophy has always been and will continue to be: as much protection as necessary and as much freedom as possible." That is why the new quarantine obligation is also part of the case of the mask requirement at the seat. There was also a consensus in the cabinet with Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU). News4teachers / with material from the dpa

Here the incidences for the districts and cities can be broken down by age group.