President announces school year to inaugurate 'normally'

The new school year will begin "normally" with regular class attendance, there are no plans to introduce lockdowns, President Andrzej Duda said on Monday.

"The school year will begin normally. There are absolutely no plans to introduce lockdowns or any hybrid or other special learning systems," Duda said following a Cabinet Council sitting devoted to preparing the national school system for an expected fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that although schools would open normally for the new school year, they will be equipped with additional safety equipment, including antiseptic distributors, thermometers, face masks and protective gloves.

Duda said schoolchildren would not have to wear face masks in class, but would have to wear them in common areas and during breaks.

He also announced a national Covid-19 vaccination programme in schools, to begin in the third week of the school year.