Primary schools will close from Monday 8 February, switching to distance learning for a week until the February half term begins. Crèches are permitted to stay open; however, all other facilities such as music schools or Maisons Relais will close as well.
Meisch explained a series of infection chains and clusters had been detected in different establishments over the last week, citing the example of a primary school in Schifflange, which has sent the whole of Cycle 2 into quarantine, as reported yesterday.
The minister added that they had detected significant differences in the virus' behaviour compared to the autumn term - in November and December, there were high numbers of daily infections, but few clusters. The situation now appears to have reversed itself. Meisch said this could be in part due to new variants of the virus. In autumn, around 10% of cases among under-19s were traced back to school establishments. Currently, around 30% of cases in the under-19s are occurring within schools.
Infections are also rising significantly among those aged 19 and under. Last week there were 260 cases, compared to 158 the previous week - a 64% increase, said Meisch. This has caused concern, although cases among older age groups have stagnated recently.
Meisch explained both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education had concluded a new variant was therefore present within schools, resulting in the decision to close primary schools ahead of half term. Secondary schools were already set to close on Monday as part of the holiday.
Parents of children aged 13 and under may apply for leave for familial reasons if required.
Further analysis will take place over the coming week, with Meisch expected to make further announcements at the end of next week regarding future decisions for schools. The minister added that the data available is still extremely new, and declined to comment on whether more general government restrictions would be extended beyond 21 February.
