The face-to-face reopening of schools for the 2021-2022 academic year may not occur until mid-September, and even that timeline is dependent on the strict adherence of Jamaicans to the new COVID-19 measures that were announced by the Government on Monday to contain a surge in virus cases.

The disclosure was made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness as he addressed a digital press briefing on Monday.

“As it stands now, this goal (of reopening face-to-face school) is severely challenged. We are still hopeful that we would be able to have some form of reopening (of school),” Holness said.

“We had targeted mid-September (to reopen schools), but it really depends on what we as Jamaicans do in the next three to four weeks,” he declared.

School plants were first ordered closed on March 13, 2020, as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and since that time, the institutions have not been reopened to the entire school population at any one time.

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