Buenos Aires Schools To Continue With In-Person Classes Despite Court Ruling - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) The Buenos Aires City Hall gives schools the green light to open for in-person classes on Wednesday despite the announcement of tighter COVID-19 restrictions in Argentina's capital city including a court ruling directing the shut down of schools for 15 days, media reported.

Argentine president Alberto Fernandez announced a tightening in COVID-19 restrictions amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the capital. A court order put in place on April 15 stating education must go online has been annulled as appeals by the City Hall to continue in-person teaching were made, Buenos Aires Times reported.

Federal Judge Esteban Furnari sent the case to the Supreme Court where he minimized the "the institutional gravity and legal scandal" of the decision to move education to online classes, as quoted by the newspaper.

A conflict has emerged in the country over the disputes whether a Federal judge can annul the ruling of a local appeals court.

The Chief of Government of Buenos Aires Horacio Rodríguez Larreta said that in-person classes are not a source of contamination and argued that the federal government has the "autonomy" to decide whether school should remain open or closed.

National Government officials have called the ruling "political" and a "legal aberration."

Argentina is currently experiencing a second COVID-19 wave. Over 29,000 new cases were reported in the 24 hours on Tuesday and the death toll stands at around 60,000.