School bells ring for the first time in six months

First day of school in Italy for 5.6 million pupils.

Schools reopened across much of Italy on September 14, for the first time since March 4, at the very onset of the covid-19 emergency.

This morning saw the return to class of around 5.6 million students (out of a total of 8.3 million) in 13 of Italy’s 20 regions, reports the Reuters news agency.

Some schools greeted their students with balloons and banners; in others, there was spontaneous applause for the children as they walked through school doors for the first time in six months.

Students will find a very different school than the one they left in March, with new single-use desks, masks, hand sanitizer, one-way systems and social distancing measures as part of the news. strict rules in place to contain the spread of covid-19.

The reopening of Italian schools has been a “priority” for the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte who admitted on Facebook that there would be “difficulties, especially at the beginning”, while thanking teachers and families for their “many sacrifices “.

Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina told state broadcaster RAI that “the government’s prevention strategy will work if everyone plays their role responsibly”, adding the famous lockdown slogan “Andrà tutto bene” ( Everything will be alright).

The school year will be officially launched later this afternoon by Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Vo ‘, a town in Veneto that was one of the first coronavirus hot spots in Italy, reports the Italian news agency ANSA.

In the northern region of Alto Adige, schools reopened on September 7, in Sardinia they reopen on September 22 and in the southern region of Puglia, the reopening date is September 24.

Photo The Republic