Coronavirus Ecuador: pilot plan to reopen schools amid Covid-19 pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Emergency Operations Committee (COE), in charge of addressing the Covid-19 pandemic in Ecuador, on Sunday, February 28th, announced that it will resume pilot plans in 77 educational institutions, within the framework of a progressive, safe and voluntary back-to-school process.

Ecuadorian Minister of Education Monserrat Creamer announced in a press conference that the COE has decided to “lift the suspension” on the pilot plans of 77 educational units, particularly in rural areas.

“The suspension has been lifted of the pilot plans in 77 educational facilities that had been in operation since September and suspended in December,” due to the pandemic outbreak in the country, said Creamer.

She pointed out that the COE resolution prioritizes educational institutions in the Amazon region and stressed that the agency has not yet considered opening pilot programs in the Andean region’s urban areas.

Above all, she explained that they have not considered lifting the suspension of pilot plans in educational institutions in urban or rural areas of cities such as Tulcán, Ibarra, Quito, Latacunga, Ambato, Riobamba, Azogues and Cuenca.

However, the Minister explained that weekly assessments will be conducted to determine the pandemic situation, for potential approval of new pilot plans in educational institutions.

She stressed that the aim is for the return to classes to be progressive, safe and voluntary “for families who decide to send their children to school on a semi-presential basis.”

She also noted that the authorities are ensuring compliance with “absolutely all” health safety requirements to guarantee maximum protection to students.

The Minister accepted that the prolonged isolation of students has led to symptoms of fear, depression, addictions and also certain suicidal tendencies, which is why these aspects should also be assessed.

On February 10th, the Quito office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recommended that Ecuador should safely and progressively reopen school activities as soon as possible, with a biosafety and self-care plan to prevent an increase in covid-19 infection.

UNICEF pointed out that Ecuador, along with Panama and Peru, was one of the few countries in the region that had not reopened schools for almost a year, when the health crisis began.

“The longer children remain out of school, the more likely they are not to return,” UNICEF added, noting that some 90,000 students in Ecuador had dropped out of the education system. UNICEF also stated that with isolation “children are more exposed to violence, abuse and child labor.”

On the other hand, COE president Juan Zapata said during the same press conference that the organization has decided to maintain remote work for fifteen more days, until March 14th.

He explained that, out of the 500,000 employees in the country’s public sector, 287,000 have chosen home office, representing 57% of the total.

The COE president urged the public and private sectors to embrace this model, since the measure considerably reduces pressure on the transport network and other likely sources of coronavirus infection.

According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health’s latest report, on Sunday the country registered 1,808 new Covid-19 cases and its infection count during the pandemic has reached 286,155.

Ecuador registers 11,085 confirmed deaths from the disease, in addition to 4,753 “probable deaths”, totaling 15,811 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Source: El Cormercio