(source: TASR)
Kindergartens and the first stage of primary schools (first to fourth grades) will be open for children of all parents from April 12.
In addition, students attending special schools, secondary health schools, the final years of secondary schools and other school facilities will also return on that date. Pupils who do not have access to distance learning will also have the opportunity to learn in groups of five with one teacher.
Parents are still required to have a negative test and students should also be tested if they are in the second stage of primary school or older.
“We are returning to normal opening for all kindergartens and the first stage of primary schools,” said Education Minister Branislav Gröhling, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “These will be open for children of all parents and if the situation is favourable, all other grades will open subsequently.”
Respirators not mandatory for the youngest
Children in kindergartens and grades one through four will not be required to wear FFP2 or KN95 respirators inside. They only need to wear regular masks. Children younger than six years did not need to wear any sort of mask.
Still, the Public Health Authority recommends that children aged three to six wear something that covers their mouth and nose when inside buildings and on public transport.
The pupils of grades five through nine, secondary school students and adult employees of schools must wear respirators. The same applies to people visiting schools, TASR reported.
More information on Monday
The school Covid semaphore warning system will be launched at the same time. The system informs when a classroom or a school is closed due to a positive case in a school.
Art schools will also open to pupils of first level primary age and school clubs, canteens and other facilities remain open, too, including dormitories for secondary healthcare schools and special schools.
The Ministry has promised more information on April 12, when it will announce how schools should operate from April 19.
