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The mayor of São Paulo, Bruno Covas (PSDB), announced today that there will be no more flexible classes in São Paulo in December. Therefore, only regular classes for high school will continue with authorization to take place in person.
For kindergarten and primary education, authorization to carry out extracurricular activities (such as music, dance or language classes) and face-to-face reception will be maintained. The rules apply to public and private schools located in the capital of São Paulo.
Covas argued that there is stability in cases of coronavirus in the city of São Paulo and, therefore, “this is not the time to expand flexibility.” The mayor also stated that, although there is no new flexibility in education, “there is no need to go back.”
We will continue in the same scenario, with the same open activities, with the same protocol to respect ”, he said.
Second wave of clashes in SP
Covas’ announcement comes amid a confrontation over a possible second wave of covid-19 cases in the city of São Paulo.
In recent weeks, at least three private schools in the city of São Paulo decided to suspend classes because they considered that there were risks of contamination from the coronavirus. Two of them registered covid cases among students.
Data from the Seade Foundation (State Data Analysis System) shows that there was a 29.5% increase in new covid cases, in the first 17 days of November, compared to the same period in October.
The mayor, however, says that “there is stability in the pandemic” and that “there is no second wave [de covid-19] in the city”.
According to the City Council, hospitalization rates in the capital fluctuated throughout the pandemic and the current increase is mainly due to migratory movements (movement of people from other cities) and to the relaxation of the population in preventive measures, with agglomerations in pubs. , parties and even in homes.
The municipal secretary of Health, Edson Aparecido, also indicated that the public network of the capital has 45% occupancy of ICU in beds for covid-19, while the private network has 76%.
Bars in front of schools
The municipal secretary of Education, Bruno Caetano, defended the decision of the City Council to suspend new flexibilities for schools, but maintain the release of the operation of establishments such as bars, restaurants and gyms.
“The City Council has been working with teams from the sub-prefectures and health surveillance to stop abuses in activities that have already been relaxed and we have also observed the behavior of education in various parts of the world,” he said.
According to Caetano, the actions of the City Council aim to prevent what happened in New York City, in the United States: yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio resumed face-to-face classes in public schools due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
The municipal health secretary affirmed that, although Europe treats education “as if it were an economic sector,” the same does not happen in the city of São Paulo. “We treat education in an absolutely different way,” said Edson Aparecido.
The secretary also stated that, according to the results of the serological surveys carried out by the City Council, about 70% of children and young people are asymptomatic when they are infected with the coronavirus. “Not going back to school is not just about protecting children,” he said, saying that it was also about protecting teachers.
By ensuring the flexibility of schools, but maintaining the liberation of the operation of establishments such as bars and gyms, the city of São Paulo goes against what has been done in Europe, for example.
Amid new restrictions imposed to curb the recent advance of covid-19, countries such as France and Germany decided to keep schools open, while bars, restaurants, gyms and theaters were closed.
