Europe is going back to school despite recent coronavirus surge

PARIS (AP) — Virus or no virus, European authorities are determined to put children back into classrooms, to narrow the learning gaps between haves and have-nots that deepened during lockdowns, and to get their parents back to work.

Facing a jump in virus cases, authorities in France, Britain, Spain and elsewhere are imposing mask rules, hiring extra teachers and building new desks en masse.

While the U.S. back-to-school saga has been politicized and chaotic, with a hodgepodge of fast-changing rules and backlash against President Donald Trump’s insistence on reopening, European governments have faced less of an uproar.

And even though the virus has invaded classrooms in recent days from Berlin to Seoul, and some teachers and parents warn that their schools aren’t ready, European leaders from the political left, right and center are sending an unusually consistent message: Even in a pandemic, children are better off in class.

France’s prime minister promised Wednesday to “do everything” to get people back to school and work.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called reopening schools a “moral duty,” and his government even threatened to fine parents who keep kids at home.

Italy’s health minister abruptly shut down discos this month with one goal in mind  “to reopen schools in September in complete safety.”

Unlike the U.S., many European schools reopened at the end of the last term, offering lessons for the fall.

Among measures in place: hand-washing stations, one-way corridors, staggered starts and lunch times.

Some regions are giving out free laptops, in case of new lockdowns.

Many countries require masks in school, but rules vary on where to wear them and from what age.

Most of the U.K.’s 11 million students haven’t seen a classroom since March, and reopening schools tops the political agenda.

Some European schools are planning or considering a hybrid academic year, with some physical classes and some online.

But most are aiming for full in-person classes.

That’s in line with guidance by global organizations like UNICEF, which said Thursday that at least a third of the world’s schoolchildren were unable to access remote learning during lockdowns.

It warned that “the repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades.”

We want to hear from you! Email us at star@gleanerjm.com and follow @thejamaicastar on Instagram and on twitter @JamaicaStar, and on Facebook: @TheJamaicaStar.