Schools and universities will begin to open in Turkey almost a month after the start of the school year, the government said on Wednesday, with the number of cases of coronavirus contamination recorded every day exceeding 1,000.
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“ Schools will reopen with distance education on August 31, ” Education Minister Ziya Selcuk told reporters in Ankara. According to him, we can hope for a gradual return to classes from September 21. This decision was taken based on the advice of the scientific committee which advises the government and which met on Wednesday.
Schools and universities were closed in March as well as most places open to the public. The authorities have decided to keep the schools closed until the end of the school year. Turkish authorities fear a rebound in the Covid-19 epidemic, the number of cases recorded each day having climbed from 900 to 1,000 on August 4, and not having fallen since.
A total of 243,180 people have been infected in Turkey, and 5,873 deaths have been recorded, according to government figures released on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca warned that " the strict measures that we do not want to undergo again could be reinstated if the rise (of cases) continues at this rate ".