BERLIN – On a continent that still struggles with Covid-19’s high rates, a small alpine country is trying something new to reopen its schools: Requiring students to take tests twice a week before they can attend classes.
The experiment could bring valuable lessons to the United States, where many schools remain closed, especially as it is happening in a place with relatively high infection rates, despite months of restrictions.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week urged elementary and middle schools to reopen amid a debate between parents, teachers and local governments over how they should operate during the pandemic.
In Europe, where some countries are reopening schools after winter closings, more governments are pushing tests at schools as they try to balance the growing urgency of bringing children back to classrooms for fear of new highly infectious virus variants.
Austria, which this month reopened schools after almost three months, is taking this further than any other European country.