Coronavirus: clusters emerge at two Limassol primary schools

Coronavirus clusters have emerged in two primary schools in Limassol including pupils and teachers, forcing the closure of one on Wednesday, as health authorities were trying to trace all the infections.

The two schools are reportedly the Melina Merkouri primary school and Ayios Georgios, both in Polemidhia.

All pupils at Ayios Georgios remained home on Wednesday while only around 35 of the 200 at Melina Merkouri showed up for class.

The chairman of the school board, Andreas Theodorou, could not provide an accurate number of infections as authorities were in the process of tracing the contacts of previously confirmed cases.

“But there is no reason to panic,” he said. “We are doing what the protocols are saying … disinfecting all areas. I think the situation is manageable.”

It is understood that the first infections were detected last week.

Limassol has consistently generated a higher positivity rate compared with other areas of the Republic, raising concerns at a time when authorities were discussing easing restrictions further.

Despite a three-week lockdown in January, infections remained in the low triple digits across the Republic – bar two days – and jumped to 176 on Tuesday.

Throughout this time, Limassol had consistently produced a positivity rate of around 0.50 per cent, which on Wednesday rose to almost 1 per cent. Out of 6,768 rapid antigen tests in Limassol, there were 65 positive cases, or a 0.96 per cent positivity rate.

Earlier Wednesday, it was reported that 20 people from Anorthosis Famagusta handball team, players and staff, had been infected with the virus.