Government holds talks ahead of reopening of schools as a number of teaching staff test positive for covid-19.

The Italian government is meeting with regional authorities today to draw up guidelines for the reopening of schools in Italy on 14 September after the covid-19 lockdown.

Italy's ministers for education, health, transport, and regional affairs are participating in the videoconference summit, reports Italian news agency ANSA, with the objective of agreeing on a nationwide approach to covid-19 protocols.

• Italy to reopen schools on 14 September

Key areas for discussion include the management of coronavirus cases in schools, the wearing of masks, temperature checks, class sizes, and social distancing, particularly in relation to school transport.

• Italy to test teachers for covid-19 before schools reopen

The talks were called after 20 teaching staff tested positive in Umbria and a further six in the Treviso area, reports ANSA.

Italy's schools closed in the early stages of the covid-19 crisis on 5 March and did not open before the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

• Italy's school reopening plan rejected

"The schools must not only be reopened, we must also ensure that they do not close," education minister Lucia Azzolina said recently.

Earlier this summer Italian premier Giuseppe Conte promised that Italy's schools would reopen "in complete safety" on 14 September.

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