Romania's Easter holiday, initially scheduled for two weeks in April to include both the Orthodox and Catholic Easter, might be expanded to four weeks, minister of education Sorin Cimpeanu announced. Thus, schools in Romania could stay closed throughout April.

This year, the Catholic Easter is on April 4, while the Orthodox one is on May 2.

Among the benefits of a longer holiday, Cimpeanu outlined "keeping the schools open until April 1, such as to allow the 8th-grade students sit for the training exams," Bursa.ro reported. He implied that the alternative was closing the schools now in Bucharest or gradually as the infection rate rises in each city.

He admitted that the extended holiday in April bears costs as well - including rescheduling the final exams for 8th-grade pupils to July, after the Baccalaureate, which takes place at the end of June. A precise schedule was not provided, though, and an official decision regarding the extended holiday was not published yet.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Virgil Simonescu)