A new school year during the pandemic

The Education and Health ministries have decided, by joint order, the way in which the school year will unfold, in the context of the pandemic.

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Ştefan Stoica, 02.09.2021, 14:00

The new school year starts in Romania on the 13th of September. This is the third consecutive school year held in the context of the coronavirus pandemic so the sanitary conditions that must be strictly observed are the same as in previous years: physical distancing and face mask wearing indoors. The infection rate that causes schools to close and classes to be held exclusively online has been raised. The Public Health Department will announce every Friday, on its website, if in the upcoming week classes are held in a physical format or online, depending on the particular epidemiological situation in each locality, Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu said.

He explained: “For as long as the Covid-19 incidence rate stays below six per one thousand inhabitants in a certain locality, all nurseries, kindergartens and schools will stay open for in-person classes. When the infection rate exceeds this threshold, nurseries and kindergartens will remain open, and students will switch to online classes, with the exception of students enrolled in special schools. In the case of special schools, where therapeutic activities and activities by which students with special needs learn to survive, in-person classes will be allowed even if the 6% infection rate is exceeded. This is the only exception that we make.”

In her turn, Health Minister Ioana Mihaila explained the steps to be followed if a case of Covid-19 infection is detected in a classroom: “In the case of preschool to 6th grade students, if a child tests positive to the virus his classmates will attend classes online for 14 days. In-person classes can be resumed on the 8th day, provided that all children in the class are tested and the results are negative. In the case of 7th and 8th graders and high school students, if one of them tests positive to Covid-19 there are two policies that apply: one for the immunized students and for students who had the virus in the last 180 days and recovered, who can continue to attend classes in person, and one for students who are not part of the above-mentioned categories and who must switch to online classes for 14 days, or for only 8 days if they are tested for coronavirus and the results are negative.”

The National Students’ Council believe all students should be tested, and not only the ones who had not been vaccinated, so that the risk of spreading the virus is limited. They are asking the state to protect all vulnerable students, such as those diagnosed with chronic diseases and not only the ones suffering from immunodepression-related conditions, given that vaccination does not depend on the students and requires the parents’ consent. The Students’ Council criticized the education and health ministers for the delay in releasing the joint order regarding the unfolding of the school year and pointed out that the education system needs predictability. (EE)