ANKARA, Feb 16 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey yesterday reopened schools in rural areas, as the country continues to push forward mass vaccination for the COVID-19.
“As of this week, we are happy to reunite our students in the villages with their schools. Following this first step, our second move will be to open the doors of our schools, for students in eighth and 12th grades on Mar 1,” Turkish Education Minister, Ziya Selcuk, said yesterday, at a ceremony in Godekli village, of the eastern Igdir province.
Last Nov, Turkey suspended face to face schooling after a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, and continued online education. The government decided to gradually start in-person education, after its mass vaccination process started on Jan 14, with the COVID-19 vaccines developed by the Chinese company, Sinovac.
So far, more than 3,953,000 Turks have been vaccinated and more than 634,000 of them received their second doses of the jab.
Schools already have a set of guidelines and measures in place, from enforced social distancing in classrooms, mandatory masks, and delivery of hand sanitizers.
Turkey yesterday reported 7,945 new COVID-19 cases, including 660 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 2,594,128, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus rose by 91 to 27,562, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,482,435, after 7,106 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.– NNN-ANADOLU
