Covid-19: Restrictions on school activities from 3 November

The Health Minister's new regulation on restricting school activities due to stricter public health measures comes into effect on 3 November. The aim is to minimise disruption to school activities and to ensure that operations at nursery and primary school level remain unaffected. On the advice of the Director of Public Health, the rule on mandatory face coverings will be changed so that it does not apply to children born in 2011 or later.

See the news on the Stjórnarráðið website. 

The regulation is based on the recommendations of the Director of Public Health for stricter public health measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been prepared in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Culture. It covers nursery schools, primary schools, music schools, secondary schools, further education colleges and universities, whether they are state or privately run. The regulation also covers other activities, such as after-school clubs and youth centres, and sports, youth and leisure activities.

Pre-schools

• There shall be no more than 50 nursery children in each room. 
• Children in nurseries are exempt from the 2-metre distancing restriction. 
• Staff must maintain a 2-metre distance from one another and, if this is not possible, must wear face masks. 
• Organised sports, youth and leisure activities for children of preschool age are prohibited, both within and outside of preschools.

Primary schools

• Primary school, i.e. Years 1–4: Pupils are exempt from the 2-metre distancing rule and do not need to wear face masks. A total of 50 pupils may be in the same room. The same rules apply to after-school clubs for pupils in Years 1–4.
• Years 5–10: A maximum of 25 students are permitted in each room. A 2-metre social distancing rule applies to them, and if this cannot be maintained, students must wear a face covering. Staff must also maintain the 2-metre rule and wear a face covering if this is not possible.
• Primary school staff: There shall be no more than 10 staff members in any one room, but staff are permitted to move between groups. Staff must observe the 2-metre rule with one another and with pupils in Years 5–10. If this is not possible, they must wear face masks.
• Population limits and group mixing: The same groupings of pupils must be maintained in primary school activities and at after-school clubs, ensuring that there is no mixing between pupil groups. In shared school spaces, it is permitted to deviate from the limits on numbers and the rule on mixing groups, provided that pupils in years 5–10 and staff wear a face covering.
• Organised sports, youth and leisure activities, including those of youth clubs for primary school-aged children, are prohibited.

Music school

• Music schools are permitted to provide one-to-one tuition with a 2-metre social distancing requirement between staff and students. 
• No more than ten people, i.e. staff and pupils, are permitted to be in the same room at one time, but care must be taken to ensure that there is no further mixing of groups than occurs in normal school activities.
• Face masks should be worn in all work with students where practicable.
• Parents and carers should generally not come to the music school unless it is absolutely necessary. Anyone other than staff who comes to the music school, for example for deliveries, must wear a face covering. 

First year of upper secondary school

In compulsory secondary school courses taken in the first year of study, up to 25 people are permitted in a room, provided that a 2-metre social distancing can be maintained.

Secondary schools, universities and music schools

• As a general rule, there is a limit of 10 people.
• A 2-metre social distancing rule and a requirement to wear a face mask in universities and music schools, and also at secondary school level, with the exception of first-year courses. 
• Mixing of pupils between groups during lessons is not permitted, but staff and teachers are allowed to move between groups. In shared school spaces, the rule on mixing groups and the limit on numbers may be waived, provided that face masks are worn.
• It is permitted to continue with practical, art and clinical teaching under the same limit on group size, even if the 2-metre social distancing rule cannot be enforced; in such cases, students and teachers are required to wear face masks.

Regulations on the restriction of school provision due to the pandemic