18 students and 2 staff members from Vierumäki school (Vierumäen Koulu, in Finnish), in the municipality of Vantaa, near Helsinki, have been placed in home quarantine due to probable coronavirus exposure, the city of Vantaa reported on Wednesday in a press release.
According to official information, the isolation period began on 20 May and will last until 1 June.
Pupil's guardians and all the school staff have been informed of the exposure, which has not been explained in detail.
Face-to-face teaching will continue in the school normally for all the students except for those quarantined, who have been told to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. During quarantine, they may continue with their studies remotely.
School in Espoo
In Espoo (the second largest city of Finland), the local Infectious Disease Authority reported on Wednesday that "20 pupils and a few staff members" from Mattlidens Gymnasium (a Swedish speaking upper secondary school) have been placed in home until 1 June.
The reason is that one person infected with Covid-19 was in the school premises.
Other students and staff are not considered exposed to the infection, so the school may continue to operate normally, the city of Espoo said in a press release.
Teachers will instruct the students in more detail how to study remotely during the home quarantine. Local authorities are also in contact with the parents, staff and students, who will receive more information through Wilma.
Similar problems have been reported in one school in Viikki (Helsinki), where three members of the staff have been also quarantined due to coronavirus exposure.
Other schools affected
The Vierumäki and Viikki schools thus join the list of schools in the country that have had to take protective measures for students and staff since the government decided to reopen the educational centers last Thursday.
There are also other schools affected in Helsinki (Kannelmäki and Itäkeskus), one in the city Porvoo (east of the capital city) and three in Sipoo (36 kilometres northeast of Helsinki) that have had to adopt similar measures.
At least 9 schools in the Uusimaa region had to take isolation measures due to Covid-19.
