From 1 July 2022 onward the requirement for teachers and teaching staff in general to have a valid vaccination or recovery certificate will be lifted, as decided by the Latvian government during a discussion of amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection on Tuesday, 3 Mary.
This means covid certificates will no longer be a requirement for teaching staff to engage in education activities.
Amendments currently state that from 1 June 2022 persons who study at a general, special or vocational education institution will be able to participate in the education process or childcare services during the summer break without a vaccination or recovery certificate.
The current requirement is for teachers, administrative and other employees who come into frequent contact with children to have a valid vaccination or recovery certificate.
At the same time, employers have the right to evaluate each individual employee’s infection risks and potential risks to other people’s health, as well as assign activities doing which does not require a vaccination or recovery certificate.
Even teaching staff engaged in distance teaching and who also have contact with students also require a certificate.
Previously it was reported that more than 1 000 people signed an open letter addressed to the Ministry of Education and Science against the requirement for education institution workers to have a valid Covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate.
Authors of the letter include more than 200 teachers and 40 heads of education institutions. They also believe Latvia should use Lithuania’s and Estonia’s example and lift ‘society-splitting’ restrictions.
Representatives of Latvian Trade Union of Educational and Scientific Workers have requested experts to provide explanations for the Covid-19 requirements put in place for education workers in the new school year.
The organisation notes that «for a whole month we have stressed the inability of policy makers to explain the requirements for work in person in the new school year».
As it is known, as of 1 April the vaccination certificate requirement in Latvia is preserved in specific sectors – healthcare, social care and education.