School-age children represent 6.3% of all coronavirus cases in Romania, prime minister Ludovic Orban said on Monday, August 24. He added that, once the new school year starts, all students, teachers and non-teaching staff will be required to wear masks at school.

"6.3% of the Romanians who got sick are school-age children, with schools being closed […] There has been a spread of the virus in this age group as well," Orban told local news channel Digi24.

"The risks are minimal. Most young people don't develop severe forms, many do not have symptoms or don't feel them, they don't pay attention to them, many recover without knowing they have been infected," he added.

The prime minister also explained what will happen if a school registers COVID-19 cases: "If a case occurs in a classroom, the courses in that classroom are automatically suspended for 14 days, an epidemiological investigation is made. If there are several cases, maybe 3-5 cases in a school, the courses in that school can be suspended for 14 days."

The reopening of schools in September could lead to an increase in the number of school-age children infected with COVID-19, but "it will all depend on how people comply with the rules," Ludovic Orban said. 

"It's bad with a mask, but it's worse without a mask. The rules of personal hygiene, keeping a distance, avoid talking in front of another person. If these simple things are followed, then the spread of the virus is significantly reduced," he added. 

The PM also said that all children, teachers, and non-teaching staff would be required to wear masks at school. He believes that the risk of infection will be very low during courses.

The new school year is set to start on September 14 in Romania.

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(Photo source: Gov.ro)