Schools in low-risk regions reopen in Italy

Schools at all grade levels in lower risk regions in Italy reopened on Monday to more students, reaching a 70% average capacity of in-presence learning as part of a nationwide plan to partially ease the lockdowns imposed since the virus surge in fall.

Isaac Newton High School students in Rome were happy to return to their teachers on Monday, crowding the school entrance and eager to make it to their classrooms.

On April 16, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that April 26 as the date of the partial re-openings for yellow-risk regions, a long expected first step toward emerging from what many feel like a never ending pandemic.

Isaac Newton High School had already returned to some in-presence learning earlier in the year.

Fifth year students were given preference, as they need as much classroom time as possible with their fellow students to prepare for the state exams ending their course of studies.

"Preparing for a final exam with in-presence learning is surely better than doing it from home," said 18-year-old, fifth year student Valerio Forte.

More first and second year students were also brought back to in-presence learning, as being beginners, they are considered in need of more guidance through a new learning experience.

Some classes were back to their full capacity, while others had some students in class and others following from home through distance learning.

The high school already had systems in place to allow students back in class, with its gym also being set up as a classroom space.

According to the school's principal, a full in-class presence cannot be achieved at this stage due to public transport limits.

Keeping the in-class presence at 50% to 70% allows for public transportation to not get too crowded with students who have to get to and from school.

But "teachers are extremely tired because for more than a year, they have had to reshape their way of teaching," said Cristina Costarelli, the principal of Isaac Newton High School.

They now have to adapt to both in-presence learning and distance learning, she added.

Some students were also complaining about the new measures in school, such as keeping a distance from each other and wearing face masks the entire time.

According to the Italian Ministry of Education, about 7.6 million students are currently attending in-presence classes.

The country is also opening its cinemas, restaurants, theatres and museums.

Travel will also be allowed between the yellow zones.

Italy's 10 p.m. curfew will remain in place, and the stricter rules will be unchanged in red-tier zones with a higher level of contagion.

Italy was the first country outside of Asia to be hit by the virus in February 2020, and has suffered the second-highest death toll in Europe, with nearly 116,000 dead.

The country recorded more than 3.8 million cases of the coronavirus.