10. december udgav UNICEF et review baseret på 20 studier, der alle var udgivet før 23. november og altså længe inden regeringen i december 2020 endnu engang – og denne gang i månedsvis – hjemsendte danske skolebørn.

I reviewet svarer UNICEF på tre centrale spørgsmål:

1. Er der en sammenhæng mellem personligt fremmøde i skolen og øgede COVID-19-smittespredning i samfundet?
2. Er eleverne i højere risiko for at blive smittet i skolen?
3. Har skolepersonalet en højere risiko for at blive smittet i skolen?

Svarene på spørgsmålene er “Nej”, “Næppe” og “Nej”.

in-person schooling does not appear to be the main driver of infection spikes

UNICEF

Svaret på spørgsmål 1 er ”Nej”, for UNICEF konkluderer nemlig, at

The preliminary findings thus far suggest that in-person schooling – especially when coupled with preventive and control measures – had lower secondary COVID-19 transmission rates compared to other settings and do not seem to have significantly contributed to the overall community transmission risks.

Svaret på spørgsmål 2 er “Næppe”. UNICEF skriver således, at

Surveillance evidence from Europe shows that the proportion of reported cases in children remains lower than in adults and is lowest among children below 10 years. This may be due to lower infection rates or due to milder or absent symptoms.

Og endelig er svaret på spørgsmål 3 ”Nej”. Unicef konkluderer således, at

“Little evidence exists that school staff are at higher risk of being infected when they are at school relative to the general adult population”

UNICEFs samlede konklusion er:

While evidence continues to emerge regarding the effects of in-person schooling on the risk of COVID-19 infections, a review of the current evidence shows that in-person schooling does not appear to be the main driver of infection spikes, children in school do not appear to be exposed to higher risks of infection compared to when not in school when mitigation measures are in place, and school staff also do not appear to be at a higher relative risk compared to the general population. It is important to note that in most cases schools have re-opened along with the implementation of various mitigation measures and some of the early research reviewed was collected in the context of relatively limited school re-openings