Cyprus swaps student quarantine with 5 days of virus tests

Cyprus is changing its compulsory quarantine rules for schoolhouse children successful an effort to support pupils successful schoolhouse amid surging coronavirus infections, the country’s wellness curate said Wednesday.

Under the caller system, schoolkids who were successful adjacent interaction with classmates who trial affirmative volition nary longer look compulsory quarantine. Instead, they indispensable acquisition either a accelerated oregon a self-test for 5 consecutive days portion continuing to be schoolhouse — truthful agelong arsenic they trial negative.

Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said aft a Cabinet gathering that the month-long effort starting adjacent week volition use to superior and secondary students careless if they’ve been vaccinated oregon not.

The purpose of the alleged “test to stay” strategy is to support schools moving by rapidly identifying and isolating recently infected students without keeping classmates distant from lessons.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry is scrambling to find substitutes for absent teachers. Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said authorities person mobilized to screen each teacher absences and pleaded with teachers’ unions to halt disclosing information that gives “misleading impressions” astir the grade of the problem.

Unvaccinated teachers indispensable beryllium accelerated tested each 48 hours. Those without a booster sprout request to acquisition a accelerated trial erstwhile weekly.

The superior schoolhouse teachers’ national volition clasp an advertisement hoc gathering of its members to determine whether to telephone onslaught enactment implicit what it calls “inadequate” measures to antagonistic the dispersed of COVID-19 successful schools, authorities broadcaster CyBC reported.

Also, arsenic of Jan. 14, travelers to Cyprus indispensable person undergone either a accelerated antigen oregon a PCR trial wrong 24 and 72 hours respectively anterior to arrival. Anyone intending to question to Cyprus but has contracted COVID-19 indispensable hold 10 days earlier mounting off.

Cyprus has seen an corruption complaint of implicit 3% for the past 2 weeks with the wellness attraction strategy feeling the unit arsenic infirmary admissions for COVID-19 patients has been connected a dependable rise.