Amid a new surge in coronavirus cases, Education Minister, Radovan Fuchs, said on Wednesday that schools "would not close automatically" but will stay open for as long as possible, because "we can't gamble with the education of children and younger generations," state agency Hina reported.

“As the number of coronavirus cases is increasing in the general population, it is also increasing among students. We have been informed that about 120 schools might switch to online lessons. However, we are sticking with our initial plan, which means we will not order a full (nationwide) switch to online classes, nor do we recommend county authorities to do so,” Fuch told reporters in Parliament.

“You all said that schools should be the last to shut down in order to avoid isolation for students. We are actively in talks with the public health institute and the national coronavirus task force to change the rules which currently say that any student in contact with an infected person, meaning that entire classrooms are ordered into isolation even if only one student tests positive,” said Fuchs.

He added that at the moment 50 percent of schools have not had a single infected student, and that 152 schools have only recorded one or two positive students.

“There are several cases where teachers and other staff at schools seem to be a problem, not just the children, and we will talk with the institute to see what can be done,” he added.