Educators want schools to reopen in September, Education Minister Owen Bonnici said on Tuesday, adding that  “everyone” was insisting they want to see this happen. 

The minister was commenting in the wake of warnings by the teachers' union that it might not be plausible to reopen schools if the number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase. 

Asked by Times of Malta whether the government was rethinking its plans to have children return to school desks on September 28 in light of the resurgence, Bonnici insisted this was not yet the case. 

Instead, the focus remains on making sure schools are ready to welcome students on the set date, he said. 

Pressed to say when the government would decide on the matter, Bonnici again insisted that the current plan to reopen schools is still in place. 

“We are committed to reopening schools on September 28. We will take all the necessary measures to safeguard our students but our children have to get an education and school life must continue,” Bonnici said. 

Malta closed its schools and the university in March, days after the first COVID-19 cases were reported. They remained closed until the end of the scholastic year.

As of Tuesday, Malta had 440 active COVID-19 cases, with 29 new cases detected in the past 24 hours.

When schools were closed in March, the number of active cases had just reached the 100 mark.