SAN JUAN – Public schools across Puerto Rico reopened Wednesday for the first time in nearly a year despite the pandemic, with officials reporting scarce attendance amid COVID-19 concerns.
Of the island’s 858 public schools, 95 were authorized to reopen because they were located in a municipality with a low number of coronavirus cases and also met a list of requirements issued by Puerto Rico’s Health Department.
Among them was the Ramón Marín Solá primary school in Guaynabo, where parents adjusted their children’s face masks before hugging them goodbye. “You can’t touch it,” a man told his young son who was tugging at his mask. “It itches, it itches a lot,” his son replied as he walked into the school for the first time as a kindergartner.