Having ditched masks for most students, Northern Europeans now move to dramatically reduce disruptive quarantines.

Public health officials are emphasizing a shift from strict Covid measures to increased normalcy for students and families.

One might be forgiven for thinking it is 2019 when looking at pictures of Northern European schools reopening. For example, this Dutch primary school:

Most children in the region won’t be masking this year — and, if they do, it will just be in the hallway or secondary schools — and social distancing rules, never strictly enforced, have disappeared as students return to schools operating at full capacity.

Fortunately, one of the most disruptive Covid mitigation measures still remaining at the start of the academic year in many countries — quarantining children exposed to a positive case at school — is also beginning to vanish.

How are Northern European countries handling students exposed to positive cases at school?

In Norway, a “test to stay” quarantine model — also adopted by states like Massachusetts and Utah — is being implemented. Rather than forcing…