Coronavirus: Schoolchildren kept apart as scientists question two metre rule

Pictures have emerged of French schoolchildren forced to play alone in playgrounds as scientists question the worth of the two metre distancing rule.

Children in the town of Tourcoing are forced to play by themselves metres apart. Picture: Twitter.

Pictures have emerged of French schoolchildren being forced to play alone in school playgrounds as scientists question the worth of the two metre distancing rule.

Nurseries and schools reopened in stages in France this week after an eight week lockdown but pictures taken in the northern French town of Tourcoing, on the Belgium border, reveal children being confined to chalked areas to play by themselves well away from their friends.

The pictures were taken by TV journalist Lionel Top, who said the children had been told to stay in their zones.

His report on the BFM news channel also showed children lining up for lessons by standing or sitting on crosses spray-painted on the floor, and separated in classrooms by tape.

Children queue up metres apart as they wait to enter their school. Picture: Twitter.

”To ensure respect for distances, while taking advantage of recreation, the teaching team drew squares on the ground for the little ones,” he reported.

“The children play, dance, jump, laugh together … but from this square. From what we have seen, they do not view it as a punishment.”

The pictures have caused outrage in France. Historian Laurence de Cock posted one of the pictures on Twitter, writing: “I can’t get over this. This image is heartbreaking. We can’t call this ‘school.’”

Schoolchildren sit in a classroom divided up by tape. Picture: Twitter.

As Australia begins slowly to reopen, with pupils already returning to the classroom, the French example shows what could lie ahead.

However experts are questioning the science behind such social distancing measures, particularly as it pertains to children.

Nottingham Trent University sociology professor Robert Dingwall, is on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which advises the UK government. He told BBC Radio the two metre rule, which is now dictating every facet of life across the continent was conjured up out of nowhere.

“There’s never been a scientific basis for two metres, it’s kind of a rule of thumb,” Prof. Dingwall said. “But it’s not like there is a whole kind of rigorous scientific literature that it is founded upon.’’

Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said questions remained about how far the virus could spread through sneezing.

”For me, the question is not how far the germs can travel, but how far can they travel before they’re no longer a threat. The smaller the germ particles, the lower the risk that they might infect somebody who would breathe them in or get them stuck in their nose or their mouth,” Dr Pottinger told USA Today.

“The biggest threat — we think — with the coronavirus is actually the larger droplets. Droplets of saliva, snot, spit. Droplets that almost look like rain, if you will, when someone sneezes. Those droplets are large enough that gravity still acts on them. Usually, within about six feet of leaving somebody’s body, those larger, more infectious droplets will drop to the ground. That’s where the six-foot rule comes from.”

Over the past three months there have been multiple scientific studies of contact tracing of people who have caught the virus. The home is understood to be one of the main places people catch the virus and where children could be susceptible.

Multiple scientific studies show that even in the intimate setting of the home the odds of catching coronavirus are between 15 and 22 percent, which is much lower than what most people instinctively believe.

But studies show that the odds of catching the virus at home don’t change regardless of the number or age of the residents.

Other studies show that children may be the ‘index’ member of a household case in fewer than ten per cent of cases.

A study by the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health found evidence that “consistently demonstrates reduced infection and infectivity of children in the transmission chain” of coronavirus.

Lead researcher Dr Alasdair Munro said: “COVID-19 appears to affect children less often, and with less severity, including frequent asymptomatic or subclinical infection.

“There is evidence of critical illness, but it is rare. The role of children in transmission is unclear, but it seems likely they do not play a significant role.”

He cited an example in NSW where nine children and nine adults had coronavirus in school settings, yet not one of 735 students and 128 staff who had close contact with the sufferers contracted coronavirus.