Some pupils at Linnanjoen school in Porvoo, some 50 kilometres east of Helsinki, will resume remote learning on Monday after a child there tested positive for coronavirus, the city of Porvoo said on Sunday. Seventeen children and four teachers have been exposed to the virus in the middle school which serves 550 pupils. All of those exposed are now isolating at home.
Porvoo officials said the school would get an extra cleaning over the weekend and that unaffected classes would resume as normal on Monday.
"The coronavirus situation in Porvoo has been good, but over the past few weeks the situation started changing, with infections and exposure rates accelerating more quickly than before," said Porvoo medical director Kati Liukko.
Porvoo has so far confirmed 53 cases of coronavirus, including 30 recovered individuals, the city reported.
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Remote learning will also resume for fourth, fifth and sixth graders at Sipoo’s Söderkulla school after a significant portion of staff went into quarantine after coming into contact with an infected individual, according to the municipality, located some 40 kilometres north of Helsinki.
Contact teaching for grades one to three will continue at the school on Monday.
Most schools in Finland reopened last Thursday, 14 May after a two-month closure to slow the spread of coronavirus. The government has instructed schools to adopt measures to keep children apart as much as possible, including staggered recess and desk lunches.