Influenza wave in Germany/ Consequences for teaching and kindergartens

2023-11-26 09:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Federal Association of Primary Schools in Germany warns about the widespread flu wave at the federal level, that there may be closure of primary schools. "The staffing situation in many primary schools in the country is difficult and is partly below the planned staffing budget," the head of the association, Edgar Bohn, told the German editorial network, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, RND. "I can't and don't want to imagine a complete closure of schools" however this could be a consequence for some of them. While the limitations of teaching hours will not be excluded.

According to the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, there is a significant increase in respiratory diseases, most often children are affected by the virus, RSV, respiratory syncytial virus.

Influenza wave in Germany/ Consequences for teaching and kindergartens

Difficult situation even in the gardens

Especially in German kindergartens, there is a difficult situation of personnel due to the wave of flu. "At the federal level, many kindergartens are currently struggling to compensate for the large number of staff shortages," said the head of the German Association of Kindergartens, Waltraud Weegmann, to RND. While the spokeswoman for the non-governmental organization, "Arbeiterwohlfahrt", Jennifer Rotter spoke of a "difficult situation" of the gardens due to the current wave of winter diseases which is expected to worsen. "The reduction of the opening hours of the kindergartens to the short-term closures due to the lack of personnel have now become the rule and are no longer the exception," she announced.

According to Weegmann, urgent measures must be taken due to the significant lack of qualified personnel in kindergartens. We have to hurry, she said, "otherwise we will no longer have a crisis of gardens, but a complete collapse of gardens."/ DW