Omicron variant: at least a third of teachers absent by the end of January?

The “possible disorganization of the company” feared by experts from the end of January, due to the spread “dazzling” of the Omicron variant, will concern, among other things, National Education. While the Scientific Council plans “several hundred thousand cases per day” within a month, and that the health authorities have decided to increase the duration of isolation for contact cases, it is necessary “to ask the question of school”, said this Thursday, December 23 the epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet during an online press point.

“Among teachers, there will be a third who will be affected, or even more, directly or indirectly”, he warned, pointing out that “It will be the same for the pupils, because you will have in each class several children who will be infected or case contact”.

“It’s not really a surprise, we are worried”, reacts to these projections for LCI Jean-Rémi Girard, president of Snalc (National Union of high schools, colleges, schools and higher). “In Education, the effect of the multiplication of cases and contact cases will be very rapid, and if there are many, it will immediately pose a problem, because we do not have replacements”, he continues, evoking a situation “not easy in terms of education” for the students either, with a “increased risk of class closures”. Especially since in National Education, “we often speak of a domino effect” he recalls, “a large number of teachers themselves have children to look after in the event of closure, which prevents them from teaching”.

“If the company got stuck in January, it would be very problematic”, insists Jean-Rémi Girard, evoking certain major deadlines such as the Bac for high school students and calling “to lay things down” concerning the management of positive and contact cases.

For Arnaud Fontanet, in fact, “there will be adjustments to be made” and they will have to take into account “the severity of the clinical forms, but also the use of tests, which allow you to tell at strategic times whether you are still contagious or not”. In other words, certain professionals concerned in essential sectors such as education or health, could possibly shorten their isolation if they are no longer contagious.

Recall that, for the time being, the government does not intend to take additional measures concerning the school and in particular to postpone the start of the school year, as the Minister of National Education again recalled this Wednesday on LCI, accusing some “to confuse the school and the nursery”.