Cristina Hodgson
SCIENTISTS from the University of Granada have warned that 20 children per classroom could generate contact with 800 people in just two days.
They anticipate that this may lead to the closure of classrooms in the autumn.
The study comes as the Ministry of Education has proposed to create isolated groups in schools to control possible outbreaks in September.
According to data from the Minister of Education, Isabel Celaa, classes of 20 students and their corresponding families will function as a so-called safety ‘bubble’.
Professor of the Business Organisation and coordinator of the study, Alberto Aragon, stressed that the ‘bubble’ would guarantee peace of mind if it were closed, but each child and their teacher have their family and their contacts.
According to the study, a group of 20 children in a classroom would have contact with over 800 people in two days.
The study has taken the average family as that formed by two adults and 1.5 minors, meaning that each of the 20 students would have an exposure to a group of 74 people in their first hour of class.
If there are two children from the same family, but in different classes, these additional contacts need to be included.
According to the calculations by Aragon, this would mean 808 people are contacted on the second day of class and in classrooms with a ratio of 25 students, as some autonomous regions have announced, this would mean 1,228 contacts in just 48 hours.
The authors of the study foresee that the high numbers of contacts could lead to closure of classrooms in the autumn as it only takes the contagion in one person in a ‘bubble’ for the entire group and corresponding contacts to be at risk.
Aragon says that there needs to be ‘more rigour’ in planning the return to school in September.
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