"The school year will begin normally," Duda told a news conference after discussing preparations for the new academic year with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other Cabinet ministers during a special meeting at the presidential palace in Warsaw.
"There are absolutely no plans for a lockdown or any special instruction system, hybrid or otherwise," Duda declared, saying that he "was provided with full information" by the government "about how schools are prepared for the new school year."
"Children and young people will head back to school as usual," Duda told reporters, noting that almost 19 million Poles have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of a national inoculation programme.
Duda also said that schools had received additional supplies of face masks, gloves and other COVID-19 safety equipment, such as hand sanitizers and thermometers, amid warnings of a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced last week that schools throughout the nation would be provided with fresh supplies of face masks, disinfectant and other COVID-19 protection gear to ensure a safe return to in-person instruction during the new academic year, which begins on September 1.
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Poland on Monday reported 151 fresh COVID-19 infections and no new deaths linked to the coronavirus.
A total of 2,888,385 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Poland since the pandemic began in March last year, and 75,340 have died in connection with the COVID-19 respiratory disease so far, public health officials announced.
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Source: IAR, PAP, prezydent.pl