Schools should carry out COVID tests, even when zero cases: WHO

To dismiss the “harmful” effects of the pandemic, schools should carry out COVID-19 tests even when no cases have been detected, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Earlier screenings in schools were recommended previously when a cluster of COVID cases are identified.

However, now, the WHO says that PCR or rapid antigen tests should be done even if there are no symptoms of COVID infection among students and staff in schools.

In a statement with UNICEF and UNESCO, the WHO said, “The summer months offer a valuable window of opportunity for governments to put in place the right set of measures that will help keep infection rates down and avoid resorting to school closures.”

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Talking about the closing of schools, “..we have seen, have such a harmful effect on the education, social and mental well-being of our children and youth,” Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said.

“We can’t allow the pandemic to rob children of their education and development,” he added.

Hans Kluge has time and again called for European regions under the WHO to address the school dropout rates and the increasing effects, including health, linked to distance learning on children. 

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The WHO’s European Region spans 53 countries and territories and includes several in Central Asia.

For the UN agencies, closing schools “should be considered only as a measure of last resort,” when there is an explosion of case which cannot be controlled by other measures.