Odesa denies rumors of quarantine in schools

Odesa denied rumors of a region-wide quarantine in schools. The temporary transition of some institutions to distance learning is only associated with an increased incidence of SARS and is a preventive measure.

This was reported by the Odesa Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the press service, rumors have recently been spreading on social media that the CDC is allegedly introducing a regional quarantine. The center's press service emphasizes that no such statements have been made. The temporary transition to distance learning in some institutions is only associated with an increase in the incidence of SARS and is a common preventive measure.

According to the Department of Education and Science of the Odesa Regional State Administration, classes were temporarily suspended from October 6 to 12:

• 11 groups of three preschools in the Kiliya and Reniyska communities of Izmail district;
• 42 classrooms and 3 educational institutions in Odesa city, Mykolaiv, Lyman and Shabiv communities were transferred to distance learning.

These measures are local, temporary and controlled, and have nothing to do with the region-wide quarantine.

Olena Buynevych, Director of the Department of Education and Science of Odesa City Council , added that all schools in Odesa are currently open and not closed due to SARS or flu. Quarantine can only be introduced

• in a particular classroom, if 20% or more students are ill;
• in a school, if 20% of students are ill;
• in all schools of the community, if the epidemic threshold is exceeded - the decision is made by a special commission.

Parents are urged not to let their children go to schools and kindergartens with symptoms of SARS and not to mask the disease with medications to protect their children and others.

At the beginning of the year, 45 schools, 5 vocational schools and 4 kindergartens were quarantined due to the high incidence of influenza and ARVI in Odesa Oblast, covering 6.4% of the region's educational institutions. The incidence rate was 508.3 per 100 thousand people, 4.5% below the epidemic threshold (532.05), with children accounting for 86.7% of those hospitalized.

In March, 79 schools were temporarily suspended due to the outbreak of influenza and ARVI: 570 classes were transferred to a remote format, covering 27,897 students.

Анна Бальчінос