Pupils sit behind plastic screens as Dutch schools reopen

As primary schools across the Netherlands begin reopening today, some teachers have taken hygiene a step further.

Pupils at a school in the Netherlands are back in class today – but have to watch their teachers through clear plastic shields dividing their desks.

Dutch schools have been closed since March 14 with the exception of a handful allowed to keep running with skeleton staff teaching the children of key workers.

The country has begun a gradual relaxation of lockdown measures, including opening primary schools today.

Staff at the Springplank school in the city of Den Bosch, one of the sites allowed to stay open, prepared by installing plastic dividers between desks and hand gel dispensers at the doorways.

Rascha van der Sluijs, the school’s technical coordinator, told Reuters on Friday: ‘Our teachers are not worried.

‘We have flexible screens that we bought so we can protect our teachers if students are coughing.’

The school is requiring parents to drop their kids off at the gate as administrators are more worried about spreading the virus between adults, Ms Van der Sluijs added.

Just 1.3 per cent of infections and one death have been registered among under-20s in the Netherlands, a proportion reflected across much of the world.

Local authorities are choosing to reopen schools in different ways. Some will only have classes every other day, while teachers will only be required to wear medical masks in certain areas.

Secondary schools will not open until June.

The number of new daily infections in the Netherlands has consistently fallen in the past few weeks.

As of Monday, 42,788 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported across the country, with 5,456 deaths among people who have tested positive for the virus.

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