Parents said Thursday they are against the government decision to mandate the use of facemasks for children aged six and above, but they support increased rapid testing at schools, as various sections of the population protested the new measures to fight the spread of Covid.
It is unfair to consider primary school students responsible for the spread of the virus in the community, chairman of the Pancyprian confederation of parent associations Soteris Christofi told the Cyprus News Agency, the day after the announcement of stricter measures aimed at stopping the surge of the virus.
He said the confederation opposes the decisions that concern children in primary schools despite concerns for the epidemiological situation.
Instead, Christofi called on the state to expand the mobile testing units to smaller schools.
“We have been urging parents for some time to give their consent for their children to be tested,” he said, to have a “clear picture” of the number of cases in schools.
This will help prevent the spread and keep the schools open, he added.
Meanwhile, a group called untied parents announced two demonstrations for Thursday, one outside the education ministry in Nicosia at 10.30am and one outside the district office of the ministry in Limassol at 9am.
On Wednesday, the minister announced the extension of the mask mandate and SafePass to children aged six and above starting November 29.
The SafePass for these children would need either a certificate of recovery from the virus in the past six months, or a negative test not older than seven days.
The new measures were announced as coronavirus cases in schools tripled in the last few days according to the health ministry.
The head of primary education Marios Stylianides told state radio that cases in schools were “much higher” than those announced as part of the daily cases by the health ministry, since many children were tested privately at pharmacies and labs.
