Coronavirus cabinet postponed by debate over how to reopen schools

The Health and Education ministries’ failure to agree on how to reopen schools in the second stage of the exit from lockdown forced a last minute postponement of the coronavirus cabinet session from Tuesday to Wednesday. The Finance Ministry wants street shops and small businesses to go first in stage two.  The second stage is supposed to cover school grades one through four to open in capsules, and permit hairdressers, beauty parlors and alternative medicine clinics to resume service. But the Education Ministry requires at least a month to reorganize classes of 18 pupils at most and additional funding, since the reduced classes calls for more teachers. In any case, the second stage will be subject to the covid-14 level in ten days’ time.

On Tuesday morning, the Health Ministry reported 1,479 new coronavirus cases and 3,5pc positive tests. A declining 636 were seriously ill, including 233 on ventilators. The death toll went up to 2,260.