John Culatto
POSITIVE cases were reported at the Notre Dame Lower Primary, St Anne’s Upper Primary, Bayside and Westside schools.
The discoveries came as active cases overall jumped to 63 on the Rock, the joint highest number along with April 9.
“Gibraltar today has the highest number of resident active cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic reached us in March,” said the Gibraltar Government.
“This could become very serious if the situation continues to deteriorate.
“Therefore, the Government reminds the public that we must not let down our guard in the face of the continuing fight against this deadly disease.”
A surge in cases all over the UK has been blamed on student parties, leading the Gibraltar authorities to remind people not to meet in groups of more than 20.
“There have been reports that such parties have been organised, or continue to be planned in Gibraltar,” revealed the government.
“The object of this restriction is to protect our parents and grandparents from COVID-19.
“There is a very real risk that anyone who contracts COVID-19, even if young, can then pass it on to adults some of whom may be over 70 or have underlying health conditions.”
With the situation getting worse in Spain, the government has warned young people to avoid meeting their elderly relative at all costs.
Family parties have been mainly blamed for this rise, so the advice is to do them in the open air as opposed to indoors.
Close contact
The four single cases at each of the government schools have been handled in the same way as all the others.
Contact tracing teams have moved in to find out who could have had close contact for more than 15 minutes with the infected.
Parents have been told to send their children to school as always unless notified otherwise.
Fortunately, the person infected at Notre Dame had no contact with staff or pupils.
At St Anne’s two members of staff and 12 pupils have been sent home to self-isolate, in the second case at the school.
In the first case at Bayside school, one staff member and six pupils are now self-isolating.
The fourth case to be reported at Westside saw 13 pupils placed into self-isolation for close contact.
Parents are urged to contact the schools if they have any specific concerns about their children.
“Our students are now at school and in contact with each other,” said the government.
“The spread of the virus between them is to an extent unavoidable.”
The news comes as the drive thru facility at Rooke was moved to Mid-Town coach park as the weather changed.
Signs have been put up that show where the new site is located and its entry-point through Reclamation Road.
