Head of public schools warns that Covid-19 diagnoses 'do not mean schools haven't done their job'

Cambray says schools are prepared and calls for "co-responsibility" to prevent spread of virus

A young student disinfects their hands on the first day of returning to school in Central Catalonia following the coronavirus pandemic (by Gemma Aleman) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

First published: September 13, 2020 03:17 PM

"There will be many positive cases among students and staff, but this does not mean schools haven't done their job," said Josep González Cambray, the Catalan education department's head of public schools, in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio a day before the 2020-2021 academic year is set to start.

According to Cambray, schools are "ready" to reopen in Catalonia on September 14, but he believes teachers, students, and their families should be prepared to "cope with the virus."

The head of public schools also called on everyone to take "co-responsibility" in terms of implementing and following health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of the disease.

"Just because everything is ready does not mean that this school year will not be unusual," Cambray added, pointing out that in the Valencian Community, where there are fewer schools and where classes started a week earlier, around 30 have already had to close after detecting cases.