Schools are not a source of infection

The existence of around thirty clusters, a third of which are in schools across the country, has recently drawn much criticism in the Grand Duchy. The Ministry of Education chose to address the issue on Thursday evening.

In a press release, the institution explained the notion of a cluster is not the same as a source of infection. It went on to define cluster as "three or more infected people, within the same community or following the same gathering over a period of 7 days".

The statement went on to offer an example of three siblings, attending the same school, who were infected with the virus at a family celebration. The school would therefore be identified as a cluster, despite the children not coming into contact with the virus at school, and no other pupils or staff were infected at the same school.

The Ministry went on to insist that to date, they had no proof of transmission of the virus in Luxembourg's schools, thereby aligning itself with the Ministry of Health's declaration that infections are more likely to occur in the private sector.

Whether this explanation will satisfy critics of the reopening of schools during the health crisis remains to be seen.

The government has promised an in-depth analysis of the impact of the virus in schools, which will be the subject of a report jointly prepared by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.