Rome, 4 January 2021
The COVID-19 report 'The opening of schools and trend of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2: the situation in Italy' is available online on the ISS website. The document analyses the national and regional epidemiological trend of COVID-19 cases in school children and youngsters (3-18 years) in the period between 24 August and 27 December 2020, and describes the evidence currently available on the impact that the closing down / reopening of schools may have on the transmission of COVID-19 at community level. The report also includes a review of the main studies on the subject carried out around the world.
In the period between 31 August and 27 December 2020, the monitoring system detected 3,173 outbreaks in schools, accounting for 2% of the total outbreaks reported in our Country. The percentage of cases among children and adolescents increased from 21 September to 26 October (with a peak of 16% in the week of 12 to 18 October) and then returned to previous levels. The percentage of cases among school children and youngsters compared to the number of cases in the adult population ranged between 8.6% in the Aosta Valley and 15.0% in the Bolzano Autonomous Province. Most cases involving school-children (40%) occurred in adolescents aged 14-18, followed by primary school children aged 6-10 (27%), middle school children aged 11- 13 (23%) and by 3-5 year old preschool children (10%). The report points out that the percentage of outbreaks in the school environment has always remained low and schools are not among the top three environments where transmission occurs in Italy, which are, in ranking order, the families/homes, health care settings and occupational contexts. "After the reopening of schools in September 2020, the trend of COVID-19 cases among school-children followed that of the adult population, making it difficult to identify the effect of the return to classroom-based learning on the epidemic”, the authors conclude. “What can be noted is that even though nursery schools have never closed down, except in some regional territories, the epidemic curve shows a decrease starting from mid-November, proving that keeping nursery schools open has undoubtedly had a limited impact on the 'trend of infections ".
The decision to reopen the schools, the report continues, involves a difficult compromise between epidemiological consequences and the educational and developmental needs of children. "In order to return to the classrooms in presence, after the restrictive measures adopted following the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, the need for classroom-based learning is to be balanced against the need to keep safe. Schools must be included in an effective system of prompt testing, contact tracing, isolation and support with the adoption of measures to minimize the risk of transmission of the virus, including the use of personal protective equipment and adequate classroom ventilation"
