The Ministry of Health informed that schools would have to conduct another comprehensive testing for COVID-19 on students who are not fully vaccinated. Three rounds of tests are expected to take place just like at the beginning of September with the financial contribution from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
Although a specific time was not mentioned, the comprehensive testing will take place at the end of October, according to statements by the Minister of Education, Robert Plaga. “The Ministry of Health will make the final decision, but the most likely date appears to be around the autumn holidays,” he said. The autumn holidays fall on the days around the national holiday on October 28. Classes will begin again on Monday, November 1.
Schools will once again have the option of using state-provided antigen testing or obtaining PCR tests. Last week, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports announced that it would order 1.6 million antigen tests for schools. Only 200 out of 5.500 elementary and secondary schools used the more accurate PCR test at the start of September.
However, reactions to school testing vary. The most crucial factor appears to be whether the school is located in an area where the disease is spreading since this might result in entire classrooms being quarantined (like in Prague) or whether the epidemic situation is stable and the school can operate without restrictions. The Moravian-Silesian Region, Prague, and the South Bohemian Region are now the most affected by Covid 19.