A controlled capacity, vaccinated staff and students, among the guidelines for the voluntary face-to-face return of classes, detailed the Minister of Education, María Brown

The Minister of Education, María Brown, explained this morning that from this Monday, January 17, the plan for the progressive return to face-to-face attendance will be resumed voluntarily in the country’s educational establishments.

The statement was given in the analysis of the epidemiological situation of the national COE and the cantonal COE, which took place this Thursday morning, January 13, at ECU911, in Samborondón. There were the Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón; the president of the national COE, Juan Zapata; the mayor Cynthia Viteri, and the Minister of Health, María Brown.

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Brown stated that as detailed in the MSP reports, children and adolescents do not have such an incidence of infections.

For this reason, from this Monday the educational centers will be able to continue with their plans for voluntary face-to-face classes. According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Education, schools that have exceeded 85% of the population vaccinated with the second dose, between student groups and teachers, may have a capacity of 2.5 meters of area per person, with a distance of more 1.5 meters in classrooms.

“For schools and colleges that have fewer vaccinated than that 85%, for them it will be only 50% of the capacity with respect to the number of students enrolled. For example, we have 100 enrolled, 50 will be able to go to face-to-face classes”, he detailed.

He said that the application of reinforcement for teachers, administrative staff, cleaning staff continues, so that they are immunized against the virus.

“Any family that wants to send their children to in-person classes can do so with these guidelines,” Brown said.

He added that this week there was an academic break so that parents can take advantage of it so that they can vaccinate their children, since they can be carriers and infect. “Children and young people of school age must go to be vaccinated with their representative. This is the group with the lowest coverage rate, so parents must make the effort,” the minister said. (I)

Members of the national COE and the cantonal COE met this Thursday morning at ECU911 in Samborondón to analyze the epidemiological situation in Ecuador and Guayaquil. There they indicated that there is a 52% positivity in the antigen tests.

The Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, explained that the fatality rate is 1.2 per 1,000 cases of COVID-19 in Guayaquil. “This is thanks to the vaccines, this is the effect of the vaccines. It is the best shield, please take care of yourself. We still have two more weeks that are difficult”.