Delayed Holidays For COVID-19 Positive Learners

Ninety (90) per cent of all learners who tested positive for coronavirus have fully recovered and will be allowed to go home when schools close on Friday, a government official has said.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson Taungana Ndoro told The Herald that learners who would not have recovered by this week would be handed over to the Ministry of Health and Child Care for further management. Said Ndoro:

So far we have recorded 90 per cent recoveries in our schools and we hope that by Friday, all learners will have fully recovered and they can all go home.

In the event that we still have COVID-19 positive cases, we will hand them over to the Ministry of Health and Child Care for further management.

39 pupils in primary and secondary schools are still COVID-19 positive out of the 600 who were infected.

Of these 600 cases, Matabeleland South province had 252 cases at Sacred Heart Primary and Secondary Schools and another 156 at Embakwe High School.

In Manicaland, 216 learners and seven staff at St David’s Bonda High School also tested positive, while another 46 cases were detected at George Silundika Secondary School in Matabeleland North.

Schools and teachers’ colleges will close for a three-week break on Friday and resume classes on 29 June.

Meanwhile, Bondolfi Teachers’ College in Masvingo has been battling COVID-19 since last week after 94 students and six teaching staff members tested positive.

The college has since been put under lockdown to ensure the virus is not spread further.

Health and Child Care Ministry spokesman Donald Mujiri said Bondolfi College has been declared a hotspot for the district and all the 345 students have to be put on quarantine for 14 days.

He said no visitor will be allowed into the campus until the situation is stable unless the visit is an emergency authorised by responsible authorities.

More: The Herald