education
180,000 students start the new semester on Monday. The security phase with several CoV tests per week remains in place. There are loosening: In elementary schools, masks no longer have to be worn during class.
In the new semester, elementary school students only have to wear the masks during breaks and in the aisle. The mask requirement for gymnastics lessons also falls, this applies to all school types and school levels. Pupils from the fifth grade must continue to wear mouth and nose protection in class, pupils in the upper school an FFP2 mask.
Education Minister Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister (ÖVP) and Lower Austria’s Education Director Johann Heuras appealed in a joint broadcast to the children and young people to do a PCR test at the weekend. This is to rule out the possibility of someone coming to class infected. Health Minister Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ) also called for the public PCR test offer to be used this weekend.
Encouraging students to get vaccinated
The safety phase in the schools is valid until the end of February. In Lower Austria, an antigen test and a PCR test are carried out every Monday, and another PCR test every Wednesday. In addition, vaccination is still being used.
“We ask all students who can decide for themselves to say ‘yes’ to vaccination and all parents of children under the age of 14 to have their children vaccinated,” say Teschl-Hofmeister and Heuras. The more pupils are vaccinated, the sooner the measures can be withdrawn and normality can return to everyday school life.