Most students return to class as schools reopen in Romania

More than 2.4 million students can return to in-person learning on Monday, February 8, for the first time since November 2020, when the authorities closed schools throughout the country to limit and control the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Ministry of Education, more than 2.9 million students are enrolled this school year, and there are 17,656 educational units in Romania, Hotnews.ro reported. The second semester will end on June 18.

Schools in Romania reopened on Monday for the second semester. However, the authorities have set three scenarios for the reopening of schools - green, yellow, and red -, based on each locality's epidemiological situation.

The green scenario, which applies to towns with low incidence rates of COVID-19, allows all children to return to school. According to Hotnews.ro, 2,129 localities are in this scenario.

Meanwhile, 903 localities with moderate incidence rates of COVID-19 infections fall in the yellow scenario, including Bucharest. In this case, only kindergarten children and primary school (I-IV grades) pupils return to school, plus those in the eighth and twelfth grades, who have to prepare for the national exams.

At the same time, 149 localities in Romania start classes in the red scenario, which means that only kindergarten and primary school children return to school.

Students who can't return to school, either due to the yellow or red scenarios, will continue online courses, which have been going on for most of the first semester. A list of all localities and the scenarios they fall into can be checked here.

The authorities also released a set of regulations for the students and teaching staff who return to class. For example, wearing masks is mandatory at school (except for preschoolers), and classrooms should be rearranged to ensure a distance of at least one meter between the desks. Students with symptoms of COVID-19 can be tested at school, but only with the written consent of their parents.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Virgil Simonescu)