site.btaFifth to Twelfth Graders in Small Schools Return to Classroom

February 14 (BTA) - A new order of the Health Minister allows pupils in Grades 5 to 12 to return to the classroom on February 15, provided there is only one class per grade in their respective schools, the Health Ministry reported Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told reporters that the pupils in all grades in small settlements will go back to in-person classes on Monday. They will not switch between online and in-person classes on a rotational basis, as is the case in the other cities, he added. He was speaking during a visit together with Health Minister Kostadin Angelov to the multi-profile hospital for active treatment in Insperih (Northeastern Bulgaria), which was broadcast live on Borissov's Facebook page.

The Prime Minister also said that restaurants must reopen on March 1, by which date the COVID-19 wave should have passed. In his words, today levels of infection are very good, too, with Bulgaria ranking 26th in Europe in terms of morbidity rate.

He went on to say that at every European Council meeting he insists on the introduction of a single medical protocol. "Some want PCR [tests], others do not. People can make a comparison how liberal our [anti-epidemic] measures are," Borissov said. Restaurants and night clubs need to reopen sooner in order to develop their business; it is not natural for the State to pay for something that is not working, he added.

RI/DS
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