Church schools will start to give lessons to students online instead of in-person for the new semester, the Curia announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Secretariat for Catholic Education in consultation with the Church Schools Association said that because of the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases reported by Public Health Authorities, schools would reopen for the next semester online.

The news comes after Malta registered its highest daily number of cases on record – 224 cases, with the number of cases expected to remain high at least for the next coming days.

“In view of this, on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th January, Church Schools will be teaching online. This will allow schools to offer an education which safeguards the health and safety of students, staff members and their families”, the secretariat said.

The measure may be extended at least till Wednesday 13th January if the trend in positive cases remains high, they said.

Parents will be informed through their respective schools by the evening of Sunday 10th January.

“The Secretariat reminds that health and safety remains paramount. This precautionary measure will help contain the increase in cases and avoid greater hardships on families if they have to quarantine themselves as a result of contact with positive cases in schools. Everyone’s cooperation is required to ensure a safer environment.”

State schools meanwhile are still set to physically welcome students back to the their classrooms on Thursday - though the MUT have alleged that in doing so, they have ignored the directives of health authorities.

On their part, health officials including Health Minister Chris Fearne and Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci, said in a press conference that no such directive to keep schools closed had been given.