Ljubljana - Secondary school students in years 1-3 are joining their final-year peers on Monday as secondary schools fully reopen under model C, meaning half of the students will come to school for a week while the other half will continue learning from home. The vaccination of teachers will also start for those over 50 years old.

There will be no changes for final-year secondary school students, who have been coming to school every day since mid-February, and also no changes for primary schools, with the only difference being the introduction of face masks for children in years 6 to 9 also in their classrooms and not only in communal areas such as corridors, halls, or dining areas.

Face masks are now also be mandatory for secondary schools, for both students and teachers.

Teachers will still need to be tested for the new coronavirus once a week.

This week, teachers will also receive anti-coronavirus vaccines, with those over 50 being the priority group, to be followed with others who have expressed interest in vaccination.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar expressed hope on Saturday that most will decide to get vaccinated and thus protect both their health and the health of children as well as help keep the schools open.

The SVIZ trade union of teachers expects more than half of teachers to express interest in vaccination.