CONTINGÊNCIA DO RETORNO ÀS AULAS E PREVENÇÃO DA COVID-19 EM MOÇAMBIQUE

Abstract

The advent of coronavirus pandemic led most countries, including Mozambique, to adopt restrictive measures on social mobility and socio-economic activities, including the closure of educational institutions (in presence). The objective of this article is to contribute to the critical reflections and determination of essential parameters to structure strategies to enable safe return to presential classes in the context of COVID-19 and the need to observe prevention and mitigation measures that contribute to make the school environment less susceptible to the spread of infections in Mozambique. This analysis was based on a bibliographic review of thematic materials published on COVID-19 including journalistic articles, normative and legislative documents, interviews with key informants, characterization and categorization of the thematic approaches derived from the listed materials and sources. The presidential announcement about the contingency of returning to in presence classes exacerbated social tension, polarizing society between those in favor and those who understand that it is not yet time to return to presential classes safely, with both extremes informed by relevant assumptions, such as the course of the epidemic curve and the structural challenges for the implementation of the prevention and mitigation protocols of COVID-19 in schools, as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and the Ministry of Health of Mozambique (MISAU). Although the polarization of positions on return to school focuses on issues related to the preservation of the economic structure and the weaknesses of school infrastructure, there is a whole dialogic and communication emphasis on the national response to the pandemic that must be re-articulated and disseminated in order to engage different constituencies and society in understanding the social and economic implications of the options and scripts that the country can adopt in order to enable a safe return to educational and productive routines, essential for social reproduction. In this perspective, deliberation on return to face-to-face classes should focus on the consideration and implementation of what can be done to ensure that the resumption of suspended activities can be done in a safe and epidemiologically relevant manner, in the structural conditions that characterize the country.