Taiwanese authorities have recently relaxed standards for school closures due to COVID-19. The threshold for the number of infections required to shut down an entire school or university is now considerably higher.
A new set of rules stipulating when schools should close due to COVID-19 has drawn mixed reactions from parents. On one hand, parents won’t have to worry about what to do with their kids at home. On the other, kids may face increased exposure to the virus.
Taiwanese authorities recently relaxed standards for closing schools that saw infections. In the past, schools suspended instruction when two students tested positive. Now, schools below the high school level will only shut down when one-third, or ten, of its classrooms have infections. Universities where a third of departments have infections will close as well.
Some parents worry that unvaccinated young children will be at risk. Yunlin County government has said it will not follow the new regulations.
Pediatrician Lee Ping-ing says the old rules were sound policy when Taiwan’s pandemic situation was stable. Now that numbers are on the rise, it isn’t feasible anymore. Dr Lee says what’s needed now is swift approval to vaccinate younger students.
Parents seem trapped between two unattractive options. Either schools shut down or school children risk getting infected. With cases on the rise, Taiwan may soon find out if the new policy will pass the test.
Tomasz Koper, RTI News