ALBUQUERQUE – Classrooms in some New Mexico schools were scheduled on Monday to allow in-person education for the first time this semester.
In-person classes were temporarily suspended by the state for two weeks earlier this month to prevent a feared increase in COVID-19 cases, Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday.
New Mexico Public Education Department was unable to immediately provide a count of schools planning to reopen in-person classes Monday.
Schools are now able to restart schedules that were planned before the pause, including those mixing in-person and remote lessons.
Small groups of students with disabilities were allowed to attend classes, but schools offering other in-person classes had to shut their doors and teach remotely.
The temporary ban on in-person learning was prudent, state Secretary of Education Ryan Stewart said.
“We are, by doing it, positioning ourselves to be better able to expand in-person learning hopefully here in the near future,” Stewart said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some – especially older adults and people with existing health problems – it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
