TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Wednesday (Feb. 3), the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that the reopening of K-12 schools after their winter holiday will be postponed to Feb. 22.

During a press conference held by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday, Education Minister Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said that due to the severity of the global pandemic, and in order to ensure the health and safety of campuses, winter vacation for high schools and elementary schools will be extended by four days to Feb. 22. Pan said that the additional time will enable schools to complete epidemic prevention preparations, as well as cleaning and disinfecting.

The delayed schedule will push the end of the semester to July 2, meaning that summer vacation will not start until July 3. Pan stated that universities can determine their own opening date after winter vacation but that it must occur on or after Feb. 22.

The Advanced Subjects Test, which was originally slated for July 1-3, will be postponed to July 3-5. However, the scope of this phase of the nationwide college entrance examinations will remain unchanged.