ZAGREB, Aug 17, 2020 – Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) head Krunoslav Capak, who is a member of the national COVID-19 response team, said on Monday that a Science and Education Ministry task force would define detailed measures for the start of the new school year and that he did not expect any major changes in that regard.
“I have to say that we are actually not late because after the lockdown was lifted we defined measures for the continuation of the school year and there won’t be any major changes in that regard as nothing has changed significantly,” he said.
“Both the task force and the people we have talked to believe that children should go to school and that the measures will be adjusted subsequently, if necessary,” he said.
“Of course we should have a fallback option, if someone contracts the disease and has to self-isolate, they will switch to online or video classes, we have to be prepared for all possible scenarios,” said Capak.
He could not say if children would have to wear masks in school and who would have to buy them.
“I cannot say who will buy masks. Smaller children and children in the age group from the first to fourth grade will most certainly not be wearing masks because that is not appropriate to their age and they will be in close contact with one another anyway, whether they wear masks or not. As for other age groups, the matter should be discussed to see what other countries have done in that regard. We will see. We are closely following the relevant literature as well as information from the World Health Organisation,” said Capak.
