COVID-19 Spike Adds to Jitters Over New School Year in Balkans

One envisages repeating the practice from last school year, when younger pupils attended classes in person under strict safety protocols while older pupils followed online classes.

A second alternative would rotate children so that they spend one week in school and the next online.

The ministry said it will make a final decision in the second half of August, depending on viral conditions.

Photo caption: A professional service worker for disinfections sprays disinfectant in a classroom in primary school to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in Skopje, North Macedonia, 15 September 2020.Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

It said that some 60 per cent of the country's 31,500 teachers and school staff had been vaccinated.

"We appeal to the remaining teaching and other staff to get a vaccine in order to protect their own health and the health of loved ones," the ministry said.

Meri Gavrilova, a high school teacher from the capital, Skopje, told BIRN that their school was preparing for all possibilities.

"Almost no one wants a repetition of last year's online classes. It was a hurdle for teachers as we had to work overtime with limited technical resources, and most students were not happy, either. They were unmotivated and ill prepared," she said.

Speaking about vaccination rates among teachers, Gavrilova said that while many have got the vaccine, some simply refuse, mostly out of fear.

"Some are older, others have some chronic conditions, so it is not up to me to tell them to get a vaccine," she said.

Meanwhile, health conditions have started to worsen once more. Over the past week, the country was hit by a spike in infections. North Macedonia now has around 4,000 active cases, about six times...