Schools in Italy likely to close beyond April 3, says Education minister as the country battles coronavirus

Lucia Azzolina, Italy’s education minister said that schools would only reopen when there would be ‘certainty of absolute safety’.

Schools in Italy are likely to remain closed beyond April 3, Italy’s Education Minister said on Thursday, as the government attempts to further limit contact among citizens to curb the coronavirus outbreak.

Schools and universities in Italy were closed on March 5. (Reuters)

“As Prime Minister (Giuseppe) Conte said, I think we are going towards an extension of the April 3 deadline,” Lucia Azzolina told SkyTG24.

Schools and universities were closed on March 5.

Azzolina said schools would reopen only when there would be “certainty of absolute safety”, adding that the end of the school year would depend on how well online lessons would go in coming weeks.