John Culatto
THE 13th and 14th active COVID-19 cases has been discovered at Westside School in Gibraltar.
They are just two of six new people infected at four schools on the Rock.
These latest cases at Westside School have self-isolated 23 pupils with no staff being affected.
At St Martin’s special school for children with disabilities, the second and third cases were discovered recently.
Although the third case had no close contact with anyone, the second one resulted in six staff members and six pupils self-isolating.
The case with most self-isolations being ordered was St Joseph’s Upper Primary.
Two staff members and 22 pupils were sent home at this southern Gibraltar school this week.
The Contact Bureau doesn’t believe anyone else has been infected by the third case at the Gibraltar College.
Parents will be contacted by the bureau if their children need to remain at home.
They can put further queries to headteachers and must watch out for COVID-19 symptoms.
So far Gibraltar has followed the UK model by allowing schools and nurseries to continue to open daily.
The Chief Minister has explained the schools are vital to keep workers’ children occupied.
Over 1,000 tests are being carried out every fortnight at schools to detect new surges of the virus.
While in Gibraltar overall active cases have fallen to just over 100, in the Campo area they are increasing daily by this number.
Five people died from the virus in the last 24 hours in Algeciras and Tarifa as cases jumped by 129.
Although the Rock is a much more confined area, it is believed the measures taken have helped control the pandemic spread.
