Hooray, holidays?

Extend the New Year holidays by two or three, or even as much as four weeks because of the pandemic – two members of the German Bundestag from the ruling coalition made such a resonant proposal at once. But parents and teachers took the idea with hostility.

As stated in an interview with Bild, MP from the ruling Christian Democratic Union Christoph Plos, who heads the Hamburg branch of the party, it is better for children to stay at home for several weeks after Catholic Christmas. According to the politician, such a “premium” would be possible due to the reduction of rest for Easter and summer vacations. His colleague in the conservative alliance from Bavaria, Stefan Pilsinger, a doctor by training, who proposed extending the winter holidays by no less than a month, agrees with him. “The welfare of schoolchildren and teachers is above all for us,” the deputy noted.

Long vacations? Not that! For such a long time, schoolchildren will have time to forget everything, parents are sure

The good intentions of the people’s representatives are clear, experts say. The spring experience of temporarily transferring German schools to a remote location turned out to be too painful for everyone, and now the Germans are striving at all costs to avoid a repetition of such a scenario. But the cost of a holiday without borders is too great. “Long vacations in winter? Not that!” Writes a columnist for the FAZ newspaper. “Only in most schools the timetable has finally settled down! Only children barely managed to make up the gaps caused by remote control! It is also unacceptable for parents who are already on their nerves. They should not be deprived of the ground under their feet, especially in times of crisis. People must be sure that they can go to work without problems. “

Meanwhile

British authorities have divided England into three areas – with medium, high and very high levels of anxiety, depending on the epidemiological situation in each of them.

In the Medium Alert Zone, which will include most of English territory, current restrictive measures will continue to apply, including a ban on gathering more than six people from different households outdoors and indoors, and a mandatory closure order restaurants, pubs and other similar establishments after 10 p.m.

In areas with a high level of anxiety, in addition to the above measures, up to six people from different families will be allowed to gather only on the street – so you don’t visit your neighbor .

And in a zone with a very high level of anxiety, such a “rule of six” will only work for visiting parks or beaches, all pubs and bars will have to close if they cannot order full meals like lunch in addition to drinks or dinner, and people will be strongly advised not to leave the designated area.

The only area in England with a very high level of anxiety has so far been the region around Liverpool, where about 600 new cases of COVID-19 per 100 thousand people were recorded in the week before last. For comparison: throughout England, this figure is 74 cases.

Prepared by Diana Kovaleva