Austrian schools reopen with half-week shifts to keep classes small

Austrian pupils will be taught in half-week shifts as most classes resume in mid-May, Education Minister Heinz Fassmann said on Friday, announcing a string of measures to prevent coronavirus infections.

While high school students preparing for final-year exams will return to school already on May 4, elementary and lower middle schools will reopen on May 18, two months after Austria’s lockdown went into effect.

However, classes will be split to allow for safe physical distances, with half of the pupils being taught from Monday to Wednesday, and the other one during the rest of the week. The groups will also switch every week.

In addition, there will be no sports lessons until the semester ends in early July, Fassmann told a press conference.

Students above the age of 10 will have to wear face masks during breaks, but not during lessons.

All other grades will return to school in early June.

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Parents who do not yet want to send their children to school for fear of infection will not be forced to do so, Fassmann said.

There were more than 15,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Austria as of Friday. The number of ill patients has dropped below 2,700 as people recover and less than 100 new infections are recorded every day. (dpa)