Petition to keep Czech schools closed gets 80,000 signatures

Prague, April 11 (CTK) – A petition, signed by over 80,000, asks Czech Education Minister Robert Plaga (ANO) to keep the schools closed till the end of this school year due to the coronavirus infection, Petr Chalus, the chairman of the group Parents Forum, told journalists today.

The petition was sent to the Education Ministry and other authorities today.

The signatories are afraid that the reopening of schools might speed up the spread of the coronavirus infection.

They are also opposed to the suggestion that children may have to wear face masks during the instruction.

According to earlier information, the schools may be reopened in the second half of May.

“The petition for the closure of schools till the end of the school year was sent to the ministries of education and health, the Central COVID-19 Controlling Team, the Central Crisis Staff and the petition committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate with over 80,000 signatures of the citizens,” Chalus said.

Chalus said earlier many parents considered the wearing of face masks, as suggested by Plaga and Deputy Health Minister Roman Prymula, unhealthy.

He said both face masks and the compulsory observance of distance between children would not have a good influence on the instruction of children.

The activists are also afraid that the stay in a closed area might enhance the transmission of the infection, threatening the health of both children and old members of the families.

They say the rules cannot be observed by children in day-care centers.

Due to this, the petition proposes that remote teaching continue until the summer vacation.