The plan to end the confinement will only be known next week, but several members of the Government have already announced their intention to start with schools, the expectation that some students may start returning from 15 March.

Both families and directors are looking forward to this return and, in a statement to Lusa News Agency, representatives of both said they trust the schools are as prepared now as they were in September.

“Schools learn in a timely manner and have always been very safe spaces”, said Manuel Pereira, president of the National Association of School Leaders (ANDE).

The sentiment is shared by Jorge Ascenção, parents' representative, who believes that the closure of schools did not happen because they are, in themselves, unsafe spaces, but rather to help contain the worsening of the epidemiological situation in the country.

For the president of the National Confederation of Parents' Associations (Confap), health security in schools is not at issue, but, even so, Jorge Ascenção defends the reinforcement of testing.

On the other hand, on the part of the school directors, Filinto Lima Velha also has an importance to reinforce the screening in schools, but he questions whether there is a capacity to comply with the DGS rules.

“At the moment, the professionals who are in the reference schools are like to be the target of these screenings, but we are talking about a residual number of teachers and employees. I don't know if the system will be able to monitor the return of teachers”, said the president of the National Association of Directors of Groupings and Public Schools (ANDAEP).