Primary school children who are in quarantine after they have had a high-risk contact within their own family will not be allowed to leave their quarantine to go to school after all.
When the schools reopen on Monday 10 January, a set of new quarantine regulations will enter into force in the education sector. Initially, those rules stated that a child could leave quarantine after a high-risk contact if they did not show any symptoms - but the Centres for Pupil Guidance (CLB) asked to adjust this rule.
On Saturday, the general director of the Free CLB Network, Stefan Grielens, argued for a stricter reading of the measure: distinguishing between a high-risk contact within or outside the family.
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Late on Saturday, the country's various health and education ministers clarified the rule: a child will only be allowed to break quarantine if the high-risk contact took place outside the family, reports the Belga News Agency.
"When a pupil has a high-risk contact outside the family, that pupil can still go to school - because the right to learn is essential," Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts told Belga. "Of course, the risk is too high when the high-risk contact is within the family. This has now been clarified."
