School staff member in Karaganda deliberately spread COVID-19 among pupils
In-Person Classes Pose Higher COVID-19 Risk for Students
It's a concerning trend, according to Aigan Esmagambetova, chair of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee of the Ministry of Health. As reported by zakon.kz, she revealed that students attending in-person classes are contracting COVID-19 more frequently than those learning from home.
In layman's terms, it appears that kids learning from home are falling ill more often. But, upon closer inspection, in-person school goers are getting sick more proportionately. This suggests that offline learning has a higher infection risk for students compared to online learning at home.
Esmagambetova stressed that each COVID-19 outbreak is individually investigated, and contact numbers are established. As of now, 302 cases have been registered among children attending in-person classes, with 3,219 contacts identified. In comparison, 740 cases have been reported among children learning remotely, but the number of contacts is significantly lower—only 1,056.
So, why the discrepancy? Well, when children attend school, their circle of contacts broadens, making it harder to pinpoint who they've come into contact with. This broad contact base increases the risk of infection among the contacts. When cases are detected among students and teachers, whole schools often go into quarantine, not just individual classes, further highlighting the increased risk associated with in-person schooling.
"Even though children may experience milder symptoms, they can still act as carriers of the virus for teachers and family members," Esmagambetova warned. For instance, in Karaganda, an imported case from Russia led to a chain of infections. A teacher became infected from the patient, then spread it to her students, who in turn infected their families. This underscores the potential for children to transmit the infection.
In essence, in-person schooling increases the chances of kids catching COVID-19 due to the higher frequency and intensity of close interpersonal contacts and shared environments—both key factors in viral transmission. The committee's findings underscore the need to implement and adhere to infection prevention measures such as masking, distancing, and ventilation, especially in indoor settings where people congregate, like schools, to reduce the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.
- Science reveals that in-person classes increase the chances of children catching COVID-19 due to higher frequency and intensity of close interpersonal contacts and shared environments, which are key factors in viral transmission.
- In-person schooling, a part of education-and-self-development, poses a higher infection risk for students compared to online learning, as evidenced by a higher number of cases among in-person students and broader contacts they encounter.
- Mental-health experts might find this situation particularly concerning as the broader circle of contacts increases the risk of infection among students, teachers, and even their families, a potential health-and-wellness issue that requires careful consideration.
