Images of back to school in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay

1In Chile, the return to face-to-face classes is voluntary for private and municipal schools; parents are the ones who will decide whether to send their children back to class.

Esteban Felix AP

2The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, speaks during a ceremony that marks the first day of return to face-to-face classes this Monday in Santiago, the capital.

Esteban Felix AP

3In Argentina, the first stage of reactivation of face-to-face classes began on February 17 with initial and primary level students.

Agustin Marcarian REUTERS

4The Uruguayan National Federation of Teachers of Secondary Education called for a 24-hour national strike for last Tuesday, opposing the return of face-to-face classes in the country.

Matilde Campodonico AP

5The six-year-old student Román Catalán, while taking his temperature before entering the building for his first day back to face-to-face classes, this Monday in Chile.

Esteban Felix AP

6Students distance themselves during playtime at an elementary school in Santiago.

Ivan Alvarado REUTERS

7A girl takes classes at a public school in Montevideo, Uruguay, this Monday.

Uruguay is returning most of its students to face-to-face classes after summer break.

Matilde Campodonico AP

8A worker marks a school bench to respect social distance during the first day of the reactivation of face-to-face classes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 17.

Agustin Marcarian REUTERS

9In Chile, vaccination against covid-19 began on February 3 and it is the country in the region that has made the most progress in applying doses.

Ivan Alvarado REUTERS

10Raquel Echeverría teaches her five-year-old students to greet each other with the elbow, on the first day back to school amid the pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 17.

Natacha Pisarenko AP

11Students take recess in the courtyard of a school in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Matilde Campodonico AP

12If the schedule envisaged in Argentina is met, by mid-March almost all students will be back in class.

The measure is mandatory except for those who belong to a risk group.

Natacha Pisarenko AP