Congress to consider in-person classes essential activities

On Tuesday, Brazilian lawmakers approved a bill declaring in-person classes in schools as essential services, preventing them from being suspended due to coronavirus restrictions. The proposal now moves on to the Senate. 

According to the measure, education is considered essential “despite the public calamity,” and states and municipalities should only be allowed to interrupt classes based on “technical and scientific parameters” and not indiscriminately — however, these limits were not established.

The bill reaffirms the necessity of vaccinating teachers and educational workers, in addition to providing “all health care supplies” during classes. 

Classes in Argentina

The dilemma is not exclusive to Brazil. In Buenos Aires, courts intervened and allowed the city’s schools to reopen next week, despite an increase in Covid-19 cases. Intensive care units are at 82 percent occupancy.  

The struggle puts President Alberto Fernández and the courts on a collision course. The head of state said judges are “taking measures that should be the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts.”

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