Pupils returned to their schools on Monday following Friday’s lifting of the evacuation order in Akrotiri.

“We have returned to our daily lives and the children are back in the primary and kindergarten schools of Akrotiri,” said deputy mayor of Akrotiri, Giorgos Konstantinou.

While Akrotiri is heading back to its daily routine, a preventive evacuation exercise has been scheduled for the elementary school on Wednesday.

Konstantinou said that Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, during a visit on Saturday, gave relevant instructions for the inspections of school premises to examine their static and seismic resistance.

“After their hospitality at the 2nd Primary School of Kolossi, all the children of Akrotiri are now back at their school, without any problems,” said head of the parents’ association of the Akrotiri primary school, Polina Argyrou.

She added that the association had met with Michaelidou and the civil defence, as well as representatives from the security and health services and the chief education officer to discuss issues related to the safety of children in Akrotiri, prompting the scheduling for the exercise on Wednesday.

“[The exercise is planned for Wednesday at the Akrotiri elementary school, for students and teachers] so that they know how to deal with an emergency, such as when the sirens sound,” she said.

She explained that if deemed appropriate, two specific rooms could be used as a gathering point and temporary shelter, in case they were needed in the future.

The evacuation order for the village of Akrotiri, which is located within the eponymous British base area and adjacent to the air force base, was suspended on Friday, with the security situation in the village deemed to be adequately safe, frequent alerts regarding “security threats” notwithstanding.

The interior ministry on Friday said that it had examined the information available “in consultation with other competent state authorities”, and found that the status quo on in Akrotiri “has evolved in recent days” in the aftermath of the base being hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 2.

“Based on the assessment conducted, it was decided that, at this stage, the evacuation order in the Akrotiri area will not be extended,” the ministry said.