COVID clusters in Limassol are of great concern, Head of the contact tracing unit Valentinos Sylvestros told the Cyprus News Agency, adding that is unlikely that we will witness a decrease in daily cases the next weeks.
Sylvestros said that there are clusters in five schools and the biggest one is of at least 30 people. These are last week`s figures and the spread was from the students to other family members.
Head of the unit told the CNA that last week a total of 109 students tested positive i.e. approximately 100 families. He expressed concerned about parents spreading the virus at work places after getting infected from their kids. Sylvestros said that in the next few five days we will be able to determine the size of the spread within the families of the students. He said that it is unlikely that we will see a decrease in cases, but rather we will most probably see a rise in numbers.
Sylvestros told the CNA that the spread has to do with not adhering to the protocols, adding that if the students gather together during breaks or if the teachers don`t follow the measures while being at their offices, we have a spread. He also noted that there has been information about students or teachers who show up at schools while having symptoms.
He advised the parents not to send their kids to school if they have any symptoms and also called on teachers to take sick leave in case they feel sick. He said that all these measures were followed even before the covid pandemic and it is good for all to be reminded of these measures and strictly follow them.
Sylvestros said that in the case of two elementary schools at Kato Polemidia with huge clusters, the figures show that a teacher spread the virus. The teacher teaches at both schools and he had symptoms although his rapid test was negative.
He also said that there is a cluster in Limassol General Hospital and at some banks, adding that it is obvious that in work places and offices the spread is easier if the employees don`t keep distances and gather together during their breaks.
According to figures, between 20-26 February there was a total of 56 teachers, 109 primary school students, 25 high school students and 5 kindergarten kids island wide who tested positive for covid. These cases were detected in 43 primary schools, 19 high schools, 15 private schools and 9 kindergartens.
Invited to say whether these figures and the current situation will affect the decision for further relaxation of measures, he said that the unit analyze all data, detects the problem and briefs the authorities which will take the final decisions.
(CNA)
