Decision on reopening schools to be taken in early February, Romanian PM says

A decision on reopening the schools in Romania will be taken on February 2, after a review of the country's coronavirus situation, prime minister Florin Citu said on Tuesday, January 19.

He also said that "if things remain as they are" when it comes to the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, schools will reopen on February 8, under the conditions announced by president Klaus Iohannis.

"The decision will be made on February 2. We're also monitoring the evolution of the pandemic. It is another important thing because we are all now focusing on the vaccination campaign, which is important to communicate, but we must not forget that there is still a pandemic in Romania and globally. We must keep the restrictions, we must wear a mask, practice social distancing, and all the other measures that have worked to this day. We clearly monitor the situation daily," Citu said for Europa FM, local Agerpres reported.

"If things remain as they are, it is clear that we will start on February 8 with those conditions that the president announced when he said that we would open schools on February 8," he added.

The prime minister pointed out that it is important to reopen schools, but this also depends on the degree of compliance with the measures imposed to control the spread of COVID-19.

"I want to open schools on February 8, it is important to open schools on February 8, I would like to open the whole economy, not only the schools, but it all depends, of course, on how the pandemic evolves," Florin Citu said.

President Klaus Iohannis announced about a week ago that schools would reopen on February 8, but under different scenarios depending on the epidemiological situation in each locality. The scenarios would broadly be those used before the schools went full online last autumn: green, yellow, and red.

Schools in all localities moved to online learning in early November 2020, as the country introduced new restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At the beginning of January, the Romanian government adopted an emergency ordinance to extend online learning until February 8, when the second semester begins.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Ilona Andrei)