The cabinet on Wednesday decided to reopen all schools on Monday mandating testing twice a week and tightened other measures in a bid to reign in the spread of the coronavirus, which seems to be out of control with thousands of infections recorded daily.
“The cabinet’s message is crystal clear. We must trust science and support the collective work,” Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas said in a public address. “There is no other way.”
The cabinet decided to reopen schools as planned, with pupils, teachers, and administrative staff returning on Monday with mandatory 48-hour negative tests.
From then on, all pupils must undergo mandatory testing twice a week, including in primary schools where testing was weekly.
The government has also cut the number of allowed persons in homes from 20 to 10, starting Thursday, not including children up to 12-years-old.
From Monday onwards, hospitality and other venues can only host a maximum 200 people, in line with current health protocols concerning the number of persons per square metre.
No dancing is allowed and the maximum number of people per table has been set to eight.
From Thursday, places of worship can only allow in a maximum 200 people, provided existing protocols on area allow it.
The ministry recommended avoiding the use of cloth masks.
Also Thursday, SafePasses must be matched to the holders through id verification while close contacts must be tested on the third and fifth day of contact irrespective of vaccination record. The same applies to people who went through Covid previously.
The number of staff working from home where applicable has been raised to 50 per cent, starting Monday. Also Monday, stay at hotels and other tourist facilities will only be allowed to people who have either completed their Covid vaccination or started it but still had to wait for the necessary time period to elapse for the second or third dose.
An additional set of five self-tests will be given to fully vaccinated people 12 and above.
A night curfew has also been placed on the residents of elderly homes and other such facilities. This comes into effect on Thursday.
From Thursday onwards, people who arrive in the Republic and refuse to undergo PCR test will be placed in state quarantine for 14 days. They will be released on the seventh day provided they undergo PCR testing at own cost.
People travelling to Cyprus aged 12 and above must possess a negative PCR test conducted no more than 72 hours before departure.
The cabinet has also lifted mandatory state quarantine for passengers coming from South Africa, Namibia, Lesoto, Esouatini, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malaoui, and Botswana.
It also decided to extend until the end of the month, other measures currently in place.
Hadjipantelas said scientists could not beat the virus all by themselves.
Read more and full story here:-
https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/01/05/coronavirus-schools-opening-monday-with-mandatory-72-hour-testing/
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