The Mártires de Camagüey Basic Secondary School will remain closed for 21 days following the confirmation of a bedbug infestation, reported on Wednesday by journalist Yanetsy León González after a general meeting of parents called by educational authorities.
The announcement came after days of uncertainty among families, partly driven by the public denunciation that León González posted the day before on Facebook titled "A Bedbug in the Backpack," where he described the teenagers' fear of bringing the insects into their homes and the lack of official information.
At the meeting, the School Organization methodologist from the Provincial Department of Education, Diosmara López Zaragoza, together with a representative from Municipal Education and the center's director, explained the measures that had been adopted.
The fumigation began this Wednesday with the application of a powder product that will need to be reapplied every seven days during the closure period.
Meanwhile, the students will be transferred to the Javier de la Vega school, where they will resume classes on Friday, November 6 at 8:15 in the morning, in the morning schedule and with their own teachers to avoid disrupting the school year.
Attendance at the meeting was low, which led León González to share the agreements on social media so that all the parents in need could access them.
The journalist, coordinator of the Culture pages of the newspaper Adelante, had warned the day before that the issue was not trivial: «It is our teenagers who first tell us what happens at school. The insects they have seen, the concern, the fear of finding them in their belongings and bringing them home».
He also pointed out that the historic center of Camagüey had gone approximately 15 days without garbage collection, a factor that worsens sanitary conditions, and he recalled that the city has a history of schools being closed for similar situations, with families resorting to burning mattresses, beds, and clothing to eliminate the infestation.
"After so many days of uncertainty, at least there is a communicated course of action. Now it is up to us to follow up," wrote León González, who concluded his account with a demand that summarizes the feelings of many families: "The school must continue to be that place where our children feel safe."
An 85-year-old patient admitted to the Provincial Hospital of Camagüey reported in October that bedbugs were preventing her from sleeping, and that same month an infestation was reported at the Maternal Hospital of Matanzas in areas for pregnant women and newborns.
Authorities in Antilla, Holguín, acknowledged in April 2026 that they experienced a significant increase in complaints from the population regarding bedbugs.
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