THL study: Remote learning at lower secondary schools did not reduce incidence of coronavirus disease among 13-15-year-olds

A study conducted by THL shows that closing lower secondary schools did not have a lowering effect on incidence of COVID-19 among those aged 13-15. The study also found no significant differences in incidence among other age groups in the different restriction areas.

The study evaluates how closing lower secondary schools affected the incidence of coronavirus infections among 13-15-year-olds in a situation in which additional restrictions, such as the closure of restaurants, were uniformly imposed throughout the country with the purpose of averting social contacts. At the same time lower secondary schools in many parts of the country switched to remote learning. The research team evaluated the development of incidence – the differences in trends in age groups in different areas.

“Along with the closure of restaurants in the spring of 2021, most areas, covering more than 70 percent of the population, closed lower secondary schools while other areas continued with classroom teaching. The situation made it possible to compare the effects of the closure of lower secondary schools as separate and supplementary measures to fight the pandemic”, says THL Head Physician Otto Helve.

“The epidemic situation was considerably more difficult in the areas where lower secondary schools shifted to remote teaching. The relative change in incidence among young age groups was nevertheless similar in both groups, and closing lower secondary schools did not appear to have brought any additional benefit”, says THL head physician Emmi Sarvikivi.

The results of the research support earlier observations that closing lower secondary schools had no additional impact on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. Similar results have also been reported from research in Norway and Japan.

In light of the research, general regional restriction measures also appear to have affected the number of coronavirus cases. Cases declined both in areas where lower secondary schools were closed and in areas where they remained open.

The infection rates used in the study were picked from the Finnish National Infectious Diseases Register. Material for the study was from a time when cases of the disease caused by the Delta variant were unlikely.

THL study: Closing lower secondary schools had no impact on COVID-19 incidence in 13–15-year-olds in Finland

Further Information:

Otto Helve
Head Physician
THL
[email protected]

Emmi Sarvikivi
Head Physician
THL
[email protected]