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Despite the relative certainty that existed yesterday at noon that the Minister of Education will announce the closure of primary schools across the country in the afternoon, this did not happen, as the competent expert commission of the Ministry of Health for schools met for a long time. Experts have suggested the closure of elementary and secondary schools across the country, in the sense that open schools create real mobility due to parents, which may be critical at this time.
The initial thought that had fallen on the table was to close primary schools and kindergartens only in Thessaloniki, which is very crowded and even though it went into lockdown first, the pandemic has not abated and its hospitals are now 100 % full. A proposal for the closure of schools in all areas with epidemiological burden followed and finally the most drastic solution for the closure of schools nationwide fell on the table. This suggestion from the experts changes the data, as the government, as a standard tactic, wants to exercise caution before something goes wrong and is faced with negative achievements.
The delay in Thessaloniki, after all, has set off several bells for drastic solutions before it is too late. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the government will follow the instructions of the experts and this morning announce the closure of primary schools and kindergartens across the country next Monday. The issue of reduced mobility had been raised earlier during the press conference by the competent deputy minister Nikos Hardalias, saying that the travel restriction is the absolute bet.
Circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The circular issued yesterday by the Interior Ministry with measures and regulations for a possible “lock” in primary schools and kindergartens also points in this direction. The circular includes new measures for teleworking and permits for special purposes to make it easier for parents who have children in primary school, that they cannot stay home alone.
Based on what Vana Papaevangelou said yesterday, that we are at the peak of the second wave, the government considers that next week is the most critical since the start of the pandemic. A government official told “K” that next week he will judge a lot, as the country’s health system is at its limits. The most crucial bet, apart from the total number of cases, is how many hospital admissions we have in relation to discharges. A government source affirms that this is the critical quality element that we must take into account and that it will judge the evolution of the pandemic and the measures taken in our country.
It is recalled that since last night it is forbidden to move around the country from 9 pm to 5 am, where it is allowed exclusively for work, health and accompanying a pet for a walk a short distance from home.
The rationale for the proposal
The infectious diseases committee’s decision leaned toward closing elementary schools, Athanasios Tsakris, a professor of microbiology at the EKPA School of Medicine and a member of the Health Ministry’s expert committee, said in remarks to ERT late Friday. .
As explained by Mr. Tsakris, although as we know young students do not contribute much to the spread of the epidemic, by the specific suggestion mobility played a role This is observed around the functioning of schools and concerns, among others, parents and the elderly, so the measure they propose can help reduce mobility.
“Let’s not forget that this time mobility in this confinement in our country is much higher than that observed in the first one for various reasons of the functioning of the economy,” he said.
