Erdoğan: Reopening of schools to begin with preschool, first-grade students

Duvar English

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 7 that Turkey will open schools to education, starting with pre-school and first grade primary school students, in accordance with the preferences of families.

Turkish schools to begin reopening on Sept 21

“This implementation can show difference depending on the city, due to the course of the epidemic,” Erdoğan said after an over four-hour Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

“We will continue education with a system where we will do both face-to-face and remote education, taking into account the conditions of the epidemic,” he said.

Erdoğan also said that in all provinces, no standing passengers in public transportation will be allowed. Cafes and restaurants will also be subject to stricter inspections, he added.

Turkey's Education Minister Ziya Selçuk had in August announced that schools will start to reopen on Sept. 21 in a gradual transition to in-person education. Schools had previously been set to open on Aug. 31. Selçuk had also said that the continuation of face-to-face classes depended on how responsibly families and students behaved.

Meanwhile, Turkey's overall infection count on Sept. 7 reached 281,509 with new 1,703 virus cases, wrote Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Twitter, citing Health Ministry data.

Koca said 1,047 more patients recovered over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 252,152.

The death toll rose by 57 to reach 6,730, he added.

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