CORONAVIRUS - NORTH ANNOUNCES 38 NEW CASES, CLOSES SCHOOLS UNTIL OCTOBER 1

 Cyprus Mail 9 September 2020 - by Evie Andreou

The north on Tuesday announced 38 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily number so far, as it postponed the opening of schools until October 1 and said they were closing casinos and night clubs until the same date.

Of the 38 new cases 15 are local, 19 are contacts of people who already tested positive and are in quarantine, and the rest are people who arrived from abroad.

This brings the total of cases to 475.

Following the increased numbers in coronavirus cases recorded in the north in recent days, new measures were announced after a ‘cabinet’ meeting.

According to reports in the north, all schools will open on October 1. Primary education pupils in first and second grade who went back to school on Monday will be the only ones to continue going to classes. Private teaching institutes, study centres and nurseries will also remain open.

Casinos, night clubs, discos and other music and dancing places will too close until October 1.

Weddings are being postponed until after October 1, and election rallies and mass meetings are cancelled until after that date.

The new measures also concern the closure of playgrounds. Sports events will be held without spectators until October 1 but there no restrictions for individual sports.

It was also announced that people who need to quarantine will bear the cost themselves, expect for university students and people who travel abroad for health reasons.

Private sector employees who belong to vulnerable groups and need to stay at home will receive an allowance just as people working in the public sector.

In the meantime, parents of children going to the first and second grades have been reluctant to send them to school. According to Turkish Cypriot media, several schools saw only up to half of the expected numbers of pupils arriving for classes.