This morning, Inês Ramires, with the Assistant Secretary of State for Health and Health, António Lacerda Sales, at Santa Maria do Olival secondary school, in Tomar (Santarém district), at the beginning of testing students, teachers and employees for the new coronavirus in secondary education and which will take place “continuously and consistently” throughout the country, starting with the highest risk municipalities.

Asked about the pressure, especially from parents and mayors, for the closure of schools, Inês Ramires said that the start of rapid antigen tests, today, aims to "give more instruments to schools to remain safe places". “We had the decision last week to keep schools open, based on scientific evidence and on how the first period went, which showed that the system worked”, ensuring “mostly face-to-face education” and maintaining distance learning “ just as a resource, ”he said. Stressing to understand “the fear” in view of the evolution of the numbers of covid-19 cases, the Secretary of State said that the Government will make an assessment at all times and take the necessary measures. "Today what we are showing here is the start of testing in schools that aims to provide schools with more tools to make them safe places," she said.

Inês Ramires stressed that the tests carried out in the first period of the school year “revealed minimal incidences in the school environment” and that the system “has worked”, sending home “who should go home” and staying in school who should stay there.