The director of epidemiology at the IPH, Eugena Tomini stated that schools not ‘hot beds’ of infection for COVID-19.
During communication with journalists together with the Minister of Health, Ogerta Manastirliu, she claimed that 80 per cent of COVID-19 infections come from family members.
“In Albania, we do not have massive infection hot spots in educational structures. Mostly about 80% of active infections are family and 20% come from other sources. We have identified clusters in some schools at the national level that after the epidemiological investigation, the infected teachers were immediately replaced. We have no shortage in the educational structures “
The day before, the Democratic Party declared that schools have become hotbeds of infection after infecting about 600 teachers and over 1300 students.
The World Health Organisation said that the role of children in transmitting COVID-19 is not yet understood but it’s clear that those of all ages can be infected and spread the virus. Infection and transmission tend to occur more in older children and teaching staff, than in younger children. But, they noted, this is due to low reporting as many cases in children are asymptomatic. This does not mean, however, that they can still not pass the virus on.
The issue, according to WHO arrises when community transmission is high. The higher the level of community transmission, the higher the risk in schools.
The WHO said that appropriate mitigation measures are important in schools including preventative processes and rigorous mitigation procedures.
