Schools to open on Monday as planned; no isolation for Covid contacts

  • Lusa
  • 6 January 2022

"We are able to confirm that schools can resume their normal functioning next Monday, as was planned," Costa said at a news conference after today's cabinet meeting.

Schools in Portugal are to reopen on Monday as planned, the country’s prime minister, António Costa, announced on Thursday, following a cabinet meeting at which restrictions are in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 were reviewed.

“We are able to confirm that schools can resume their normal functioning next Monday, as was planned,” Costa said at a news conference after the cabinet meeting.

He cited new guidelines issued by the Directorate-General of Health that state that pupils do not have to isolate when there is a positive case in their class.

He also said that over the next two weeks all teachers and assistants in schools are to be tested.

Costa explained that this testing process is to run in parallel with “the vaccination operation that is underway until [January] the 9th for all children aged between five and eleven and for teaching and non-teaching staff.