Ministry of Education Closely Monitors Monkeypox Outbreak Ahead of School Reopening

The United States Government today declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency, with over seven thousand cases confirmed in the U.S. Neighboring Guatemala announced its first confirmed case on Wednesday, while over ninety cases of the monkeybox has been identified in Mexico as of today. Across the globe, over twenty-six thousand cases have been reported in countries that have not historically reported any case of monkeypox. Only two weeks ago, the World Health Organization also declared the outbreak a public health emergency. At that time, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa, the Director of Public Health Services, informed us that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is closely monitoring the spread of the disease. With news of greater infections in Mexico, and a single case in Guatemala, reporters asked Francis Fonseca, the Minister of Education, about the possible implications for the reopening of face-to-face classes in late August.

Francis Fonseca

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science & Technology

“It is obviously a very important issue and we have gotten briefings in Cabinet from the Ministry of Health on this issue. So, we are confident that our health experts are watching it closely, following it closely, that they are on top of it, just as we did with COVID at the Ministry of Education, we have to be guided by our health experts, so we will listen to them. We will follow their expert advice. We certainly hope that it doesn’t reach our shores. I think they are trying to do everything they can, but inevitably these things get everywhere. They reached everywhere. So, we will just have to, as it is now, there are no cases in our country, and we are proceeding accordingly. If that changes we will have to sit down with the Ministry of Health and get advice from them on how that proceeds.”