No cases of Covid-19 at schools so far – Govt

Harare (New Ziana) – Government said on Tuesday no cases of Covid-19 have been recorded at schools since their phased re-opening began.

Government re-opened schools for the first time since March at the end of September starting with examination classes which are Grade 7, form 4 and form 6 followed by grade 6s, form 3s and form 5s last week.

The remainder of the classes are set to return to school next Monday.

The re-opening was however against objections by some parents and teachers that it was not yet safe for children to return to school.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Cain Mathema told journalists at a post Cabinet briefing that the country had to date not recorded any Covid-19 case in schools.

“We will do the best to make sure that children are not affected and up to now we have no reports of children having been affected by Covid-19,” Mathema said.

He said it was imperative that more classrooms be built to ensure that social distancing is maintained among students.
“We have gone to the extent of splitting the learners, some coming at different times to ensure that social distancing is maintained,” he said.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa said Cabinet was informed that classes had resumed under Phase2 although overall learner attendance remained low.

“The overall leaner attendance rate under Phase 2 was 32.02 percent, with the highest attendance being recorded in Masvingo province at 54.95 percent while Matabeleland North and South had the lowest with 7.1 percent and 13 percent respectively,” she said.

Teacher attendance also remained very low at 27.16 percent.
New Ziana