Students of a special school in Rösrath will be taught remotely from now on until Friday due to several cases of Mpox. The district administration of the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis announced this on Monday.
“After intense exchange with the RKI and other expert institutions, the health department and the school administration, with a view to the particularly vulnerable student body, have decided on this preventive measure” it said.
The school’s rooms will remain closed to prevent close contacts between students and thus the potential spread of Mpox. The school administration has therefore “proactively ordered remote learning until the conclusion of the investigations by the health department”.
“This is a preventive measure. The parents have been or will be informed by the school administration about the measure. Prior to this, a general decree by the health department was issued, which ordered the closure of the school. This is necessary for legal reasons, so that remote learning can be ordered” the authority wrote.
Over the weekend, a case of Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, of the latest variant Klade 1b, was confirmed in a family in the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis. “The infection was likely acquired during a travel activity of a family member with close contacts to the local population in Africa” it said.
In the course of this, the infection has now also been confirmed in three more family members, including two children. “The health department of the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis has taken the necessary measures immediately. In close coordination with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and other involved health departments, contact persons were identified and contacted, not only from the family but also from the school and work environment” the authority explained.
The virus can be transmitted “by contact with the fluid from the blisters on the skin, which are typical of the disease, or by contact with scab, and possibly also by droplets from the respiratory tract in close face-to-face contact” it said. “This usually occurs in the family environment. The courses are often mild.