Most schools across Taiwan reopened for the new semester as planned on Friday, despite concerns about the local spread of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Only Kaohsiung and Taoyuan postponed reopening preschools to tomorrow, and Kaohsiung on Thursday announced that elementary schools would delay their start to tomorrow as well, due to concerns over a few local cluster infections.
Among the six special municipalities, five have announced that schools would be closed for 14 days if a faculty member or student is diagnosed with COVID-19, a stricter standard than the Ministry of Education’s guidelines.
Keelung, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County and Yunlin have also adopted stricter standards.
The ministry’s guidelines state that a class in which a faculty member or student is diagnosed with COVID-19 should be suspended for 14 days; the entire school should be closed for two weeks if it has two or more faculty members or students confirmed with COVID-19; and schools with any confirmed cases should suspend all major events.
Local media have cited health experts expressing different views, including that the ministry’s guidelines were carefully discussed and took into consideration the effect on students and their families, as parents might need to take unpaid disease prevention childcare leave, and that the ranges of class suspensions could be decided based on testing and contact tracing.
The WHO’s Regional Office for Europe in October last year called for schools to stay open, and use disease prevention and response measures, saying school closures the year before had disrupted the education of millions of students and did more harm than good, especially to children’s mental health and social well-being.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said that suspending an entire school for two weeks would be “too harsh.”
The education ministry on Thursday said it respects the local governments’ enhanced disease prevention measures, but “suspending classes should not mean suspending education.” Schools must prepare for remote learning or make up missed lessons on weekends or after school.
The inconsistent policies among local governments can be confusing to the public, especially when their own policies reflect conflicting values.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Wednesday said that more than 400 people were ordered to isolate due to one confirmed case, and only one case of moderately severe COVID-19 was reported in Taiwan this year. However, more than 20,000 people have been placed in isolation. Ko wondered if the social costs are bearable.
He suggested that aside from disease prevention, the need for social relief, economic stimulus and transformation must be considered, and restrictions should be loosened for people who have been vaccinated. Therefore, the city is to start easing restrictions, including allowing school field trips and graduation trips, from Tuesday if COVID-19 remains under control.
The city government’s attitude seems ambiguous, as it calls for eased restrictions to reduce the enormous social costs from contact tracing and isolation despite its tighter school suspension standard.
While the CECC said that domestic restrictions and border controls could be loosened as soon as next month, it is important for government agencies to make consistent decisions based on scientific data and evidence, while communicating and reassuring the public about changes through clear messaging, rather than leaving them more anxious and confused.
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