Study Finds Even Very Young Kids Are Capable Of Social Distancing At School研究发现，即使是很小的孩子也能在学校保持社交距离Social distancing has been a key measure in reducing the spread of COVID-19, as we can see from the high rates in Sweden, where it was not strictly¹ enforced. The general consensus² is that people should stay 2 meters (or 6.5 feet) away from each other to minimize the risk of passing on the virus, although a recent model suggested that infectious particles could spread further than this distance just from speaking.

社会距离是减少COVID-19传播的一项关键措施，正如我们从瑞典的高发病率可以看到的那样，瑞典没有严格执行这一措施。一般的共识是，人们之间应该保持2米(或6.5英尺)的距离，以将病毒传播的风险降到最低，尽管最近的一个模型表明，传染性颗粒可以从说话开始传播到更远的距离。

One point of contention³ has been the reopening of schools during the pandemic. Young children are notoriously hard to control, with fears that letting them loose en masse in schools would contribute to a second wave. Concerns over transmission risk to teaching staff and those in the wider community have also been voiced. Despite this, there has been a considerable push to open up schools again. In the UK, schools shut from April to May 2020, with selected year groups and children of frontline workers returning to primary school on June 1, with a full re-opening in September. Between May 18 and July 31, 247 COVID-19 related incidents happened in UK schools, with 116 cases testing positive.

其中一个争论点是在大流行期间学校重新开学。众所周知，小孩子是很难控制的，人们担心如果让他们在学校里集体上学，可能会引发第二波浪潮。也有人表达了对教职人员和更广泛社区人员的传播风险的担忧。尽管如此，政府还是大力推动学校的重新开放。在英国，学校从2020年4月至5月停课，选定的年级组和一线工人的孩子将于6月1日重返小学，9月全面开学。5月18日至7月31日，英国学校发生247起新冠肺炎相关事件，116例检测呈阳性。

In a new study published in Royal Society Open Science, researchers from the University of Bristol assessed how contact in UK primary schools has changed since the pandemic hit, and found that measures to reduce the spread of COVID reduced close in-person contacts by 50-62 percent in young children.

在发表在《英国皇家学会开放科学》上的一项新研究中，布里斯托尔大学的研究人员评估了自疫情爆发以来英国小学接触情况的变化，发现减少新冠病毒传播的措施将幼儿的近距离接触减少了50%至62%。

Francesca Benson MSci

They defined “contacts” as an interaction at a spacing of 1 meter (3.3 feet) or less, for five minutes or more. They used a method called structured expert judgment⁴, with volunteers from the Royal Society Schools Network filling out a questionnaire. These volunteers were leaders and senior staff in primary schools, 33 of which were state schools and one of which was not.

他们将“接触”定义为间隔1米(3.3英尺)以下、持续5分钟或更长时间的相互作用。他们使用了一种被称为结构化专家判断的方法，让来自英国皇家学会学校网络的志愿者填写一份问卷。这些志愿人员是小学的领导和高级工作人员，其中33所是公立学校，一所不是。

The schools ranged in size from 65 to 910 students, with an average of 376 compared to the national average of 282. The schools were well spread around the country, with a mix of urban and rural locations.

这些学校的规模从65到910名学生不等，平均学生人数为376人，而全国平均学生人数为282人。这些学校分布在全国各地，分布在城市和农村。

Questions the volunteers were asked to answer included: “If you use bubbles please describe the number of pupils in a bubble and the approximate spacing between bubbles during class time”, “Please describe your strategy to reduce close contacts between pupils”, “What is your policy if a parent or another relative of a child contracts COVID19?”, and “How many people does a typical child come into face-to-face contact with (conversation within 1 m for 5 min or more) on a normal school day in a covid free world? / on a new normal school day?”

志愿者们被要求回答的问题包括:“如果用泡泡比喻，请描述一个泡泡里的学生人数和泡泡在课堂上的大约间隔”，“请描述您减少学生之间密切接触的策略”，“如果儿童的父母或其他亲属感染covid - 19，您的政策是什么?”以及“在无covid - 19的世界里，一个普通的孩子在正常上学日会与多少人面对面接触(对话距离在100米以内，时间持续5分钟或更长)?”

Before the pandemic, teaching staff made an average of 26 contacts per day – two-thirds of which were with children. The researchers found that contacts between adults and children had been reduced by five times during the pandemic, stating that “Given that mixing with groups of children is part of the job of classroom staff the reduction is impressive.”

在大流行之前，教师每天平均接触26人，其中三分之二是儿童。研究人员发现，在流感大流行期间，成人和儿童之间的接触减少了5倍，并表示“考虑到与不同的儿童群体的接触是课堂工作人员的工作之一，这种减少是令人印象深刻的。”

They found that for younger children, between the ages of 4 and 6, contacts had reduced by 53 percent since the pandemic hit. For older children, between the ages of 10 and 11, contacts were reduced by 62 percent. They found that bubbles contained between 6 and 15 children.

他们发现，对于4到6岁的幼儿来说，自疫情爆发以来，接触病毒的人数减少了53%。对于年龄较大的10至11岁的儿童，接触病毒的人数减少了62%。他们发现气泡中有6到15个孩子。

The authors of the study point out that, as they only counted contacts at a certain distance and time, “Our study misses out on shorter more frequent contacts.” They also explain that “It seems unlikely that the significant reduction of risk, implied by these results, can be maintained with a full return to school without greatly expanding the accommodation⁵ to maintain reduced class sizes.”

该研究的作者指出，由于它们只计算在一定距离和时间内的接触者，“我们的研究忽略了更短、更频繁的接触者。”他们还解释说，“这些结果所暗示的风险的显著降低，似乎不太可能通过完全返校来维持，而不需要大幅扩大住宿空间来维持班级规模。”

In conclusion, they stated that “there is a broad consensus that physical distancing measures can be maintained to some extent with a full return of children, but not to the same extent as achieved in June and July.”

最后，他们说，“普遍的共识是，在儿童完全返回时，可以在某种程度上保持距离措施，但不能达到6月和7月所达到的程度。”