We have put on the map the educational units that have suspended their operation throughout Greece, due to cases of coronavirus, and we have calculated the progress of the suspensions over time.
The above map was originally created on October 5. Since then, it has been recording the educational units that are found under –complete or partial– suspension of operations throughout the country, due to COVID-19 cases: it gets updated on a daily basis and it presents the units that are suspended from operation on the day of access. Educational units that are shutdown due to “lockdown” are not included. Consequently, today, December 5, 2020, the map records only special educational units of all levels, which have suspended their operations due to COVID-19 cases.
The source of the primary data is the list of suspension of operations announcements, which the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs has been publishing on the Internet, from the beginning of the school year onwards (here until the first week of November and, from then on, here). In total, from September 26, 2020 until today, December 5, 2020, 2,238 suspension of operations announcements have been collected, corresponding to 1,675 unique educational units which, in turn, have been geo-located in order to be depicted on the map. Detailed information regarding the processing and analysis of data is provided in the relevant publication on Methodology.
The evolution of suspensions of operations over time
The above diagram presents the number of educational units that were found under total or partial (classes or grades) suspension per day, from September 29, 2020 onwards. However, there may be some pre-dates or post-dates in the data, in relation to the exact date on which some schools suspended their operations. For this reason, the graph is worth to be considered in terms of the general course that the suspensions followed over time: the number of units, both in partial and total suspension, peak from November 3 to November 6, one day before the beginning of the imposition of the second national “lockdown” –which begins with the elementary schools and kindergartens still in operation. Then, from November 9 to November 13, the number of units under partial suspension remains at the same increased levels as those observed on November 2, one day before the imposition of the local “lockdown” in the Regional Units of Thessaloniki and Serres. At the same time, the number of units under total suspension is peaking again until all the units (except for the special schools of all levels) are shut down, due to the tightening of the restrictions.
Schools that have suspended their operations, by category
There is a growing curve in the number of units, both of secondary and primary education, in suspension of operations due to COVID-19 cases, from October 20 onwards. Middle and high schools under any form of suspension of operations (total or partial) are consistently more than primary schools and kindergartens –with the gap between the two appearing to grow, particularly from October 27 to October 29, about eight days before the announcement of the then upcoming second national “lockdown”. However, on November 2, three days before this announcement, the gap is almost completely bridged, following a large increase in the number of suspension of operations of primary schools/kindergartens. The latter continued to grow and peaked at the same time with the announcement that all educational units (except for the special ones) must cease to operate, as part of the “lockdown”.
The numbers regarding special schools demonstrate a relatively stable course until the first week of November and then an increase, until its peak from November 24 to November 27, when more than 50 special schools and Special Vocational Education and Training Centers (EEEK) were found under suspended operations due to COVID-19 cases.
Translation: Evita Lykou
