Hundreds of pupils are self-isolating after an entire primary school in Brussels closed down following the emergence of several coronavirus cases among staff.
Primary school La Source in the municipality of Evere, in northernwestern Brussels, has closed down temporarily after six staff members tested positive for the virus.
The school has sent all 381 students home and will remain closed until at least 5 October in order to avoid the emergence of a larger cluster.
The school’s closure was decided by Evere Mayor Ridouane Chahid, who also announced last week that he had been infected with the new coronavirus.
“There are more and more infections among teachers, educating support staff, and children,” Chahid told Bruzz. “So I decided to close down the school until 5 October to eliminate potential clusters.”
Since the return to school at the start of September, at least four schools in Brussels have triggered partial or total quarantines after the detection of coronavirus cases among pupils or staff, including three in Ixelles, one in Anderlecht and one in Schaerbeek.
News of the latest school quarantine comes after the 19 mayors in Brussels decided on Monday to keep all schools in their municipalities on code yellow, the second-lowest risk level under which all primary and secondary school pupils can go to school five days a week.
The Brussels Times
