Some students are expected not to return to classes after the November holiday break as health authorities recommended on Wednesday to the Ministry of Education to switch to a combination of classroom teaching with online learning, a scenario that is planned to be implemented not entirely throughout territory of Albania but partially based on the progress of the pandemic in respective areas.
“… After the recommendation of the Committee of Experts, we decided to recommend to the Ministry of Education to apply alternate, classical, physical and combined learning scenarios with online learning from December 1 based on the specifics of the local situation of the epidemic,” stated the Minister of Health, Ogerta Manastirliu in a video message published on her Facebook page.
Albania recorded the most tragic day on Tuesday with 19 victims caused by COVID-19, while 8 victims and 644 infected persons were confirmed on Wednesday.
The two-week average of daily infections on Tuesday marked the level of 630 persons a key indicator that continues to be growing steadily since the end of October.
Albania decided to open primary and secondary schools last August, when pandemic figures were low. Schools opened with shortened timetables and four shifts to avoid overcrowding. Since then, the government has insisted that students are not coronavirus spreaders.
Even on Wednesday, while announcing the decision of the Committee of Experts, Manastirliu reiterated that “they are not considered to be high transmitters of the infection.”
But the chairman of the opposition Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha reacted on the partial closure of schools in the country, saying on Twitter that PM Rama has no plan for the pandemic and that he has lost control over it.
Opposition head said that Rama declared on Tuesday that “children do not infect you with coronavirus” while today announces the partial closure of schools./argumentum.al
