Brazilian states postpone reopening public and private schools

São Paulo Governor João Doria confirmed today that face-to-face classes in the state will be suspended until October 5. However, schools will be allowed to reopen on September 8 to prepare and hold student reception activities. The initial São Paulo Plan would have reopened both the state’s private and public schools in September for face-to-face classes. Schools have been closed in São Paulo since March 23.

Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, state judge Peterson Barroso Simão ruled against allowing private schools to return to in-person classes in the state capital, overruling a previous decree by Mayor Marcelo Crivella, which allowed private schools to reopen. 

Yesterday, The Brazilian Report covered Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel’s decision to postpone the return of in-person classes in the state until at least August 20. However, the decision excluded private schools in the state capital, which had been cleared to return to in-person classes for students in the 6th, 7th, 11th, and 12th grades.  

Seven private schools had already returned to in-person classes in Rio de Janeiro, prompting the local Private School Teachers Union (Sinpro) to organize a strike on August 3 against unsafe working conditions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his decision, Mr. Simão highlighted that there were no recommendations from health authorities currently in place to justify a return to classes that is widely viewed as premature. In cases of noncompliance, Mayor Crivella will be fined BRL 10,000 (USD 1,869) per day for as long as schools remain open. 

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