HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe will reopen primary and secondary schools this month for students preparing to sit their final exams, six months after they were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the government said on Tuesday.

The first students to return, on Sept. 14, will be those taking Cambridge International exams. Those taking locally administered final exams will go back two weeks later.

“The ministry (of education) is working closely with other ministries and stakeholders to guarantee the safety of pupils and staff during the examinations period,” the government said.

Zimbabwes former army commander and newly appointed vice president General Constantino Chiwenga (L) and Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa (R) sit as they attend the swearing-in ceremony in Harare, on December 28, 2017. Zimbabwes former army commander who led a military takeover that helped end Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule sworn in as one of the country’s two vice presidents. General Constantino Chiwenga, 61, took the oath of office in Harare, pledging to be “faithful” to Zimbabwe and to “obey, uphold and defend the constitution”. / AFP PHOTO / Wilfred Kajese (Photo credit should read WILFRED KAJESE/AFP via Getty Images)

The education ministry had previously said it would give priority to pupils taking final exams and has hinted that other students will not return to school until 2021.

Zimbabwe has recorded about 6,500 cases of COVID-19 and 202 deaths. Despite an increase in infections in the past six weeks, most cases were mild to moderate, with a recovery rate of about 80%, the government said.

Authorities are also looking at reopening airports to support the tourism sector, the government said. The plan is to start with the resumption of domestic flights and then to restart international flights, it added, but did not give a date.

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