“469 is the number of school children infected to date, and 453 – the number of teachers”, said Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev for Nova TV.

“As a percentage, there are many more teachers who are infected than children because there are by far fewer teachers than pupils. Teachers get infected at the same rate as other active people of their age.  The system is not isolated from everything happening in the country. The easiest thing would be to close down schools but that means sacrificing, to a lesser or greater extent, children’s right to an education. We have chosen to act locally, it would be more wrong to take decisions centrally,” Minister Valchev said. “There are thresholds set down by the minister of health. If 15% of school children or teachers at a given school are absent because of Covid-like symptoms the school closes. Respectively – 20% of a given class.”