BERLIN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 41 schools in the German capital of Berlin have seen COVID-19 cases within two weeks of school reopening, with students or faculties contracting the coronavirus, local media reported.
Hundreds of students and teachers from elementary, secondary, trade schools are now in quarantine.
Statistics show there are 825 regular public schools in Berlin, just 5 percent of which are affected. The most cases have been reported in campuses in the districts of Reinickendorf, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Mitte and Spandau, with numbers ranging from five to seven.
The figures show that the Berlin schools are not the sources of the virus. "Infections are usually carried into the schools from outside," Sandra Scheeres, the city's top education official, was quoted by German daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung as saying.
Reopening schools has been a heatedly debated topic in Germany. Some hold that it may bring about potential risks of virus clusters that could spread among families and further into society, but the German government has stated clearly that keeping schools open is a top priority.
COVID-19 related regulations differ in the states, especially when it comes to wearing masks in schools. However, new plans are reportedly being made to unify different rules that apply to whole Germany. Enditem
