Students in Latvia considered Covid-19 contact persons will not have to self-isolate

To ensure the education process remains uninterrupted, the government in Latvia has decided to discontinue the home quarantine condition for students who have become contact persons of a confirmed Covid-19 patient.
To participate in face-to-face education process and secondary education in general, hobby groups and vocational education programmes, students who are listed as contacts of confirmed Covid-19 patients will no longer have to undergo self-isolation at home if the education institution he or she attends performs routine screening in accordance with the algorithm developed by Latvia’s Disease Prevention and Monitoring Centre.
Students will no longer have to spend ten days in quarantine, not will they have to undergo every-day tests before restarting face-to-face education.
Teaching and support staff, students and assistants listed as contact persons will not have to undergo self-isolation. Instead they will have to undergo regular screening under monitoring of the institution.
Students of universities and colleges will continue paying for tests from their own pocket.
To participate in face-to-face education in pre-school education facilities, hobby group and vocational education programmes, or to receive child care services, the student listed as a contact person will be allowed to not follow self-isolation requirement if no less than ten days have passed since their last contact with an infected person.
Currently it is required to present a valid vaccination or recovery certificate to participate in university or college studies. 15 February will mark the coming into force of a requirement for both face-to-face and distance learning, employment and service sector. Residents will be required to have a primary vaccination, booster vaccination or recovery certificate to engage in these activities. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, the existing requirement in relation to face-to-face teaching will remain in force until the end of the state of emergency.
Amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers requirements provide for universities and colleges the opportunity to approve education programmes in the format of distance teaching and do not provide the need for foreign students in Latvia to arrive at universities and colleges in person. This means these students are not required to present an education institution official a certificate that proves they have passed primary or booster vaccination or if they have recovered from a prior infection.
Additionally, foreign students are able to participate in education remotely if they do not have a vaccination or recovery certificate older than no more than 60 days after arriving in Latvia to engage in academic studies.
The ministry notes that in accordance with internal order of universities and colleges for 2021/2022 school year, students are able to participate in studies remotely without a Covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate.
According to the ministry, in the first week of February the number of new Covid-19 cases is 14.3% higher when compared to the previous week. Results of Covid-19 screening of education workers and students show that the number of infections among them has increased by 7%. The number of new infection cases outside of education facilities has increased by 15%.
The number of Covid-19 tests performed has decreased by 3.8% when compared to the previous week. The number of tests performed at education institutions has decreased by 23.6%.
At the same time, the percentage of positive tests, when compared to the previous week, has increased by 6.2%, reaching 39% of the total number of tests. The structure of screening practices indicates the percentage of positive tests at education institutions is 30.86%.
Looking at Covid-19 infection indexes among age groups, the ministry concluded that the infection has stabilised in the 9-19 years age group. This means the infection peak among children of school age has been reached and is expected to start decreasing soon, considering that most children have acquired protection against Covid-19 either through vaccination or prior infection and subsequent recovery.