The vaccination rate among teachers is at 85 percent.Continue reading
The number of coronavirus cases in Hungary is increasing, which is also affecting the education system. The number of institutions where measures already have to be taken to combat the spread of covid is constantly increasing. The government-critical portal Népszava asked the Ministry of Human Resources about it, which is said to have confirmed that the number of affected institutions has doubled in recent weeks: two percent of schools (i.e. about 270 educational institutions), while schools still do not have to take any measures.
This article was originally posted on our sister-site, Ungarn Heute.
As of this school year, there are no mandatory central epidemiological rules in schools, such as the mandatory wearing of masks or taking temperatures. However, many schools have already introduced at least the wearing of masks in a self-important way. There are even schools where classes have been informed that due to the high number of infections, online classes may soon be reintroduced.
According to teachers’ organizations, the data above probably does not correspond to the actual situation, since in the case of parents contracting covid, the state does not test their contacts (i.e. the school children), therefore no more contact tracing or obligatory testing.
The government has tightened up a bit after all, because at the beginning of the school year, the rule was still that people who had been vaccinated or contracted covid in the last six months (i.e., either vaccinated or recovered) were not considered contacts. According to the department, this has now changed, namely people who are infected are subject to a ten-day quarantine, even if they are vaccinated. The ministry also informed Népszava the following:
Thanks to the vaccination of students and teachers, there are no mass illnesses, and education is generally attendance-based, which is best for parents who go to work and for children, too. More than half of all students over 12 years of age are protected against the virus and the proportion is steadily increasing.”
Although there is usually in-person teaching in all schools, the news portal wanted to know in how many cases digital teaching had to be introduced. But the Ministry replied that the matter is the responsibility of the operative board.
Featured image: Students wait in a designated classroom after being vaccinated with the German-American developed Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at the Emil Vári Elementary School in Kisvárda, Hungary, 3 September 3, 2021. Photo by Attila Balázs/MTI