Church schools will not be reopening their gates on Thursday as planned as a result of the sharp spike in new COVID-19 cases.
Most Church schools were set to reopen for the second term on Thursday, along with all State schools.
But in a statement on Wednesday, the Secretariat for Catholic Education (SfCE) in consultation with the Church Schools Association (CSA) said the first two days of the new term will be carried out online. This will allow schools to offer an education which safeguards the health and safety of students, staff members and their families. This measure may be extended at least until January 13 if the trend in positive cases remains high.
Updated 1.18pm with minister s reaction
Malta has recorded another 224 cases of COVID-19 - its highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.
One new death was also reported on Wednesday, raising the overall death toll to 227 people.
The previous record of new cases was 218 on November 2.
The announcement comes a day before state schools are due to reopen after the Christmas holidays. Health authorities had warned that an increase in family gatherings over the festive period would see a spike in cases.
It also came minutes after the Malta Union of Teachers said it would issue directives to teachers unless the Education Ministry heeded advice which, the union said, the health authorities had given for schools to be kept closed. Neither the education ministry nor the health ministry have confirmed the claim.
Updated 2.30pm, adds PN statement
The health authorities have advised the Education Ministry not to reopen schools in view of an expected surge of COVID-19 cases, the Malta Union of Teachers said on Wednesday.
It said it had learned of the advice by the health authorities through multiple sources but said the Education Ministry was ignoring it.
It warned that unless the advice is heeded, it will take it upon itself to protect teachers and pupils and issue directives later on Wednesday.
Government schools are due to reopen on Thursday after the Christmas holidays, but COVID-19 cases have been increasing over the past few days, reaching a record 224 on Wednesday.
Updated 10.45pm, adds government statement
State school teachers will go on strike on Thursday and Friday after union talks with the prime minister ended without agreement.
The Malta Union of Teachers said all their members across primary, secondary, university and kindergarten would not turn up for work unless lessons are held online.
This means that all schools in Malta and Gozo will have to close for the remainder of the week or offer online options, MUT head Marco Bonnici said.
An assessment of the situation will then be taken over the weekend to decide on a way forward.
The action is supported by the Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers, which also asked its members to strike.
Updated at 11:40pm with MUT statement
Strike action ordered by the Malta Union of Teachers is “illegitimate”, the Education Ministry said this evening, insisting there was no health advice to keep schools shut.
The ministry said State schools will open as planned tomorrow morning. However, it did not say what arrangements were being made to take care of students who do attend and whether the respective class bubbles will still be respected.
The statement came hours after an emergency meeting at Castille ended with government turning down the MUT’s request for schools to offer online teaching in the wake of a spike of COVID-19 cases.