translated from Spanish: Returning to classes without conditions in Mexico is a catastrophe

Mexico.- While the federal health authority in Mexico remains in the idea of returning to face-to-face classes, despite the high infections derived from the third wave due to COVID-19, several specialists in health and epidemiology have told this publishing house that it is not the right time given the virulence of the virus and the Delta variant.But not only that, Carlos Ornelas, a doctor of education, pointed out that educational institutions in Mexico do not have enough budget to ensure that important prevention measures are complied with and the expenses, as far as possible, not as necessary, would fall on the parents. “Returning without sufficient sanitary conditions is an announced catastrophe of prolongation of the disease and ills for our children and for adolescents who go to schools,” he said for Debate.Cases confirmed Only in the official data, in its most recent report, the Ministry of the Interior and the National System for the Comprehensive Protection of Girls, Children and Adolescents pointed out that from April 2020 to August 8, 2021 there are 60,928 children confirmed with the virus, of them 11,382 with the age of 0 to 5 years and 14,426 from 6 to 11 years. The age group of 12 to 17 years is the one that accumulates the most cases, 35,020, as reported. In deaths, the group totals 613, of which 278 are women and 335 are men. The federal government argues that children have not been hit hard by the pandemic, however, for Carlos Ornelas, doctor of education, if there are no more infections it is because of the protection they have had from not interacting in the classrooms. Without resources for the optimal return Carlos Ornelas, doctor in education and author of the book Politics, power and desks, recognized that there is a need to return to schools and is known through very solid studies and surveys that show that the fatigue of children and families by remote classes. In addition, he acknowledged that, as always, poor children and their families have been most impacted, also including the 6 percent of indigenous children living in areas far from the mountains, who do not have access to television. However, he warned that one cannot return without taking due precautions. On the one hand, he analyzed that the president in his speech says that he is returning because it is time, and promises that Education Secretary Delfina Gomez will explain the strategy, but, on the other, the concrete actions are not yet known.” Because, the truth is that it does not have a strategy, at least not defined, beyond the eight points of the protocols, which are the international ones,” he explained. He acknowledged that, if there were sufficient resources and they were done, it would not be wrong to comply with those protocols, which are to remodel schools, especially those that were abandoned for 18 months, the grass, the toilet and the fundamental sanitary condition. However, it is difficult when at least 30 thousand schools do not have drinking water and about 70 percent of the schools that do have water are not drinkable. The also academic of the Metropolitan Autonomous University mentioned that water is essential to maintain the prevention of contagions, and the expense of having it constant is high, as well as complying with covers and surveillance.” The Government of the 4Q is very stingy with this republican austerity, it cuts funds to education. The program The School is Ours, which is for maintenance, replacement of furniture, was budgeted for this year 15 billion pesos, said the president, and it was not true, it was 12,550 and, of those, they cut 250, that is to say less,” he explained. For this reason, he considered that the president does not put the resources where he puts his oratory, but he does put it in the Mayan Train, the Dos Bocas Refinery, in Pemex, among other projects that cost the country a lot and not education.” We have that dilemma and there are good arguments from both sides. Those who oppose it for good reasons, because they know what I am telling you, that the government is not going to comply, because families cannot put resources to completely clean their schools, have drinking water, buy bottle water for their children or carry their bottles every day. It is very expensive for families who are in extreme poverty,” he reaffirmed. No COVID tests The doctor in education questioned for Debate the hybrid model, which involves some students in the classroom and others at a distance, and which was proposed from Esteban Moctezuma. “With what teaching staff, what training have they been given?” he said. He reaffirmed that nothing is clear.” To return like this, to the rustic, to the there it goes, is terrible because, while it is true that there has been little infection of children, it is because they have not had contact, they are locked up, and when they go out to the parks are open places, but in the classrooms it is likely that the contagions will increase, and the adolescents in secondary education are now the most vulnerable because they do not have the vaccine,” he reaffirmed. In Europe, which has been given as an example of face-to-face classes, the specialist described that an antigen test or rapid test is performed per week on each of the school assistants, teachers, students and workers, and even, when they see that they are very young children, they see that their parents take them to the doors of the school, parents or whoever takes them are also tested. This, he added, is not planned for Mexico, at least it still needs to be announced by teacher Delfina Gomez, although she insisted that there are no resources. He concluded that perhaps the most sensible thing to do would be to postpone admissions until the pandemic has subsided considerably and until conditions in each of the schools are in place. Read more: The state leader of the PVEM in Sinaloa, Gerardo Ríos, still does not appearTo understand… No clear support On August 10, the SEP called in a communique for the country’s school communities to be part of the strategy for a safe return to schools. He called on the Participatory School Health Committees composed of teachers, parents, managers and administrative and maintenance staff of public schools, to collaborate in the cleaning days for a safe return to schools. Although he added that AMLO promotes various programs of support and school infrastructure to public schools across the country, none were specified for them to access. 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Original source in Spanish