学校の一斉休校、要請せず　地域の判断は「尊重」―萩生田文科相

　萩生田光一文部科学相は２０日の閣議後記者会見で、新型コロナウイルスの感染急拡大を踏まえた小中高校などの一斉休校について「国として再びお願いすることはない」と否定した。一方、感染状況は地域によって異なるとして、各自治体が個別に臨時休校や夏休みの延長を行うことは「尊重したい」と述べた。（2021/08/20-13:03）

The Japanese government is not considering blanket closures of elementary to high schools to curb the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, education minister Koichi Hagiuda said Friday.
   "The government will not seek such blanket school closures," Hagiuda told a press conference.
   Still, he said that his ministry will respect decisions made by local governments to extend summer breaks or close schools on a temporary basis, given regional differences in infection situations.
   The ministry plans to notify prefectural education boards and others within Friday of its advice on dealing with the epidemic, including the spread of the highly infectious delta variant of the coronavirus.
   In its notification, the ministry will call for making arrangements in advance with local public health centers to prepare for in-school cases in which infections are detected or some people are recognized as having close contact with coronavirus patients.