Coronavirus: French schoolchildren forced to social distance as COVID-19 lockdowns ease
A heartbreaking photo of schoolkids following social distancing rules has sparked outrage among parents, who say kids should be exempt.
School Life
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The sad reality of social distancing at school has been captured by a French reporter.
The photo of an unnamed school in Tourcoing, on the Belgium border, shows the preschoolers being forced to play alone in squared off areas.
Schools and nurseries reopened in the coronavirus-ravaged country this week after eight weeks of lockdown.
French journalist Lionel Top shared the photos on Twitter, saying the children were told to stay in their “isolation sections”.
“To ensure respect for distances, while taking advantage of recreation, the teaching team drew squares on the ground for the little ones,” Top tweeted, along with the photo.
“The children play, dance, jump, laugh together … but from this square. From what we have seen, they do not view it as a punishment.”
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Les enfants font leur rentrée aujourd’hui (un petite partie d’entre-eux plutôt).
— Lionel Top (@lioneltop) May 12, 2020
Ambiance très étrange, voire dérangeante... pic.twitter.com/g91y5hLatJ
He also shows how kids were separated in class by tape and forced to line up on crosses spray-painted on the floor.
The photos have sparked outrage from people who say it is too much for children.
“I can’t get over this,” historian Laurence De Cock wrote on Twitter.
“This image is heartbreaking. We can’t call this ‘school.’”
Parent Myriam Cau said she had never seen such a sad picture.
“It’s horrible to subject children to this,” she said.
Another person wrote, “Shameful for children but also for teachers and institutes! What horror!!!!”
France has recorded 178,184 cases of coronavirus cases and 27,077 deaths so far.
Experts are questioning how effective social distancing is, particularly for children.
“There’s never been a scientific basis for two metres, it’s kind of a rule of thumb,” Nottingham Trent University sociology professor Robert Dingwall told BBC Radio.
“But it’s not like there is a whole kind of rigorous scientific literature that it is founded upon.’’
Professor Dingwall is on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, which advises the UK government.
Originally published as Coronavirus: French schoolchildren forced to social distance as COVID-19 lockdowns ease