Schools to reopen amid fears sparked by new spike

Schools open on Monday amid concerns due to a new spike in coronavirus infections and along with resistance by some parents to a regulation stipulating that all children and adults must wear protective face masks.

Health authorities had been scrambling over the weekend to ensure that schools are equipped with enough masks. Of equal concern is the fact that some parents have insisted on their right to send their children to school without masks – questioning their efficacy or even suggesting that they could do harm.

Authorities have said that children turning up to school without a mask will not be punished but will not be permitted inside and their parents will be called to collect them. A team of officials from the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) and the ministries of Health, Education and Citizens’ Protection has been set up to respond to possible outbreaks in schools.