Anderson High on lockdown after 20 students test positive for Covid-19

Gweru (New Ziana) – Anderson High School in Gweru has gone into lockdown after 20 learners tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

The Midlands Covid-19 task-force is now waiting for results of the remaining specimen which were sent to the laboratory for testing.

Anderson High with a total enrolment of 394 learners, 32 teachers and 45 support staff, becomes the latest school to be hit by Covid-19, after Chinhoyi High School (Mash West) which recorded 57 positive cases.

Matopo High School in Matabeleland South reported 10 positive cases.

John Tallach, a Presbyterian Church run boarding school in Matebeleland South had 184 learners who tested positive to the novel Coronavirus.

The Midlands Covid-19 task-force chairperson Larry Mavima, who is also Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Midlands, said they have taken drastic measures to stop the further spread of the disease at the Adventist Church run school.

Immediate action being taken includes the separation of affected students from the rest, isolation of all positive and symptomatic, quarantine of all negative learners and staff members and no movement in and out of the school, said Senator Mavima who added that negative day scholars are quarantining at home after screening.

Minister Mavima said they have already started the disinfection of all cubicles (dormitories) in the school.

Meanwhile, government announced that it will close any learning institution that records Covid-19 as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Some parents called for the closure of schools while others were of the view that schools should continue operating but under strict Covid-19 preventive guidelines that include fumigation, sanitising, practising physical distancing, putting on face masks.
New Ziana