COVID19: Teenage schoolgirl tests positive

A 16-year old girl attending a Famagusta district Lyceum has tested positive for COVID-19 after developing symptoms, she is the first student to do so since a return to school, health officials said.

Following the positive result, 40 fellow classmates of the teenage girl and a teacher were instructed to self-isolate, pending their test results and further instructions.

The case involving the girl was one of two, which authorities were initially not able to trace.

In the case of the student, police officers were alerted to step to find the girl, as the contact number given for her was wrong, but they were able to locate the father.

According to the Health Ministry, the school was disinfected on Sunday night and ready to open on Monday.

In statements to state radio CyBC, the Health Ministry’s spokesperson Margarita Kyriacou said: “There is no cause for panic, as we were expecting some cases to appear in schools. What is important is that protocols in place allow for swift action”.

This is the second confirmed COVID case since schools re-opened for the new academic year last week.

The case, found among a total of 10 on Sunday, follows another positive case of a music teacher who taught at two high schools in Famagusta (Frenaros) and Nicosia (Acropolis) during the afternoon.

The Health Ministry said the two cases are not connected.