On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education held discussions, broadcast as a webinar, on the topic of coronavirus with paediatric doctors and the Minister.

For children, the risk of getting coronavirus is said to be low - however, children confined to their homes have been suffering from isolation.

The general consensus from the medical experts who partook in the round table discussions was that children must be allowed to play and regain some sense of normality as school resumes.

Two paediatricians and a child psychiatrist participated in the discussion, which revolved in particular around young children and children with special needs. They maintained the dangers of coronavirus for children need to be put into perspective, comparing it to the flu virus.

For now, it seems that children with asthma are not at higher risk. Parents and school staff must work together using common sense.

Dr Fernand Pauly explained exceptions would have to be made for children with disabilities, for example, hearing-impaired children, who must be able to lip-read.

For children with special needs, it is important that they can be more comforted, because they need physical contact. It would therefore be normal for these children not to wear their masks properly. Risks could reduced by splitting children into small groups, of around five pupils.

Minister Claude Meisch, who also participated in the round table, said he was primarily there to listen. He reiterated that authorities are constantly learning about the virus, and that hygiene measures in schools would be subject to discussion over the coming weeks, potentially reconsidered or reinterpreted. Children are allowed to play in school playground, but not all pupils at once.