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IN PHOTOS: Schools start to reopen in Italy after six-month closure

Millions of Italian children returned to the classroom on Monday as many schools reopened - more than six months after they were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 14 September 2020 10:03 CEST
IN PHOTOS: Schools start to reopen in Italy after six-month closure
A pupil waves to his family as children arrive at school in Rome on September 14th, 2020. All photos: Vinzenzo Pinto/AFP
Although many Italian schools have postponed reopening, roughly 5.6 million students from a total of eight million went back to school on Monday with new rules and restrictions in place.
 
 
All photos: Vinzenzo Pinto/AFP
 
Italian Prime minister Giuseppe Conte admitted on Sunday that Italian schools faced a difficult situation, including a lack of teachers, single-seat desks, and
face masks.
 
“There will be difficulties and inconveniences, especially in the beginning,” Conte wrote on Facebook.
 
 
 
With the country registering more than 1,500 infections a day, Conte urged youngsters to “do their part”.
 
“You have to commit yourselves to the rules of caution that will allow you to protect your health and the health of the
people you love,” he said.
 
 
All photos: Vinzenzo Pinto/AFP
 
Seven regions including Puglia and Calabria have postponed reopening until September 22nd or 24th over concerns they were not ready
to meet all the new requirements.
 
And many local authorities within those regions set to reopen on Monday also chose to keep schools closed until later in the month.
 
 
All photos: Vinzenzo Pinto/AFP
 
Italian officials said the back-to-school strategy involved immediate quarantine of those “in close contact” with a student or teacher testing positive.
 
After a positive result, pupils will be allowed back to school only after returning two negatives, carried out a day apart.
 
 
A sign outsie a school in Rome reads: “Together we will make it. School at last.” All photos: Vinzenzo Pinto/AFP

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POLITICS

Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Prosecutors on Friday charged Italy's tourism minister with fraud relating to government redundancy funds claimed by her publishing companies during the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:19 CEST
Italian minister indicted for Covid-era fraud

Opposition lawmakers immediately requested the resignation of Daniela Santanche, a leading member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.

Santanche, 63, has strongly rejected the allegations, including in a defiant appearance in parliament last year.

“The Milan prosecutor’s office today requested the indictment of the Minister Santanche and other persons as well as the companies Visibilia Editore and Visibilia Concessionaria,” the office said in a brief statement.

They were indicted “for alleged fraud of the INPS (National Institute for Social Security) in relation to alleged irregularities in the use of the Covid 19 redundancy fund, for a total of 13 employees”.

According to media reports, Visibilia is accused of obtaining state funds intended to help companies struggling with the pandemic to temporarily lay off staff — when in fact the 13 employees continued to work.

Santanche sold her stake in Visibilia when she joined the government of Meloni, who took office in October 2022.

The investigation has been going on for months, but with the decision by prosecutors to indict, opposition parties said Santanche should resign.

“We expect the prime minister to have a minimum of respect for the institutions and ask for Daniela Santanche’s resignation,” said Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party.

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