Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce insisted that schools must reopen and that protocols can be put in place to protect the children.

The coronavirus is here and we must learn to function with it. We can’t have the children stop going to schools. We can have preventive protocols under which the schools operate. It will include smaller groups, more shifts and shorter classes – the less time in enclosed spaces and possible. And wearing masks, Filipce said.

Schools have been closed since March, with an improvised attempt at distance learning put in place instead. Filipce said that he is meeting with the Education Ministry and that a decision will be made next week.