PP to VI to reopen on 18 April despite soaring infections

The reopening of classes PP to VI opened as scheduled on 18 April, despite record cases and many teachers and students testing positive in schools across the nation and especially in Thimphu.

Parents worry if their children will get infected and bring the virus home.

However, if 50% of the teachers in the particular schools get infected then the schools can reschedule the reopening date.

Also, if any students of these classes have not been vaccinated, they should report to school on 28 April.

Thimphu’s Zilukha Middle Secondary School Principal, Dawa Tshering, said the school will reopen school for primary level students on 18 April, as per the MoE circulated notice.

Currently, around 8 of school teachers and about 20 to 30 students are COVID-19 positive, and they are home isolated.

The Principal said it is safe to reopen since the school is strictly maintaining the COVID-19 protocols, and if any student or teacher test positive, they are asked to do home quarantine. So the school has been functioning since it started without much challenges.

More than 30 teachers in Changzamtog Middle Secondary School are COVID-19 positive, and a few of them have already recovered, said the Principal Sonam Phuntsho.

Despite the high number of teachers testing positive, the school will still reopen on the scheduled date. They hope to be able to run the school as planned without much difficulty. The school also encourages all the eligible students to get vaccinated, the Principal further said.

Similarly, Principal of Kamji Middle Secondary school in Chukha, Dawa, said there will be no changes in the reopening date of the primary students. They have around 47 teachers including supporting staff, and so far, nobody has tested positive for COVID-19 except for a few supporting staff who are fully recovered now. Even students have not tested positive so far except for some common flu, but not COVID-19.

 “We have to live with the COVID-19, so reopening at the scheduled date would not be much of a problem. However, in case there is a massive outbreak then the school will follow the directives from the education ministry,” said the Principal.

The education ministry is still collecting data on the number of teachers who tested positive.

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