Harare (New Ziana) –Parirenyatwa Hospital and Higher Life Foundation have set a target to provide free voluntary Covid-19 testing to over 1 000 tertiary and secondary school students this week, the two institutions said.

Schools opened on Monday for examination classes while most tertiary institutions are preparing to welcome back students.

And due to the high cost of getting tested, which can be as much as US$60, many students are returning without knowing their status, putting themselves and others at risk.

“The voluntary testing will take place between 15 and 22 March at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals casualty car park,” the institutions said in a joint statement.

“The arrangement will be able to process 150 students per day on a first come first serve basis.”

HigherLife Foundation is a social impact organisation founded in 1991 by telecommunications mogul Strive Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi and invests in human capital.

Beneficiaries will be required to bring their school and college identity cards as well as letters of confirmation from their respective institutions.

Educational institutions were shut last year as the pandemic wrecked havoc, with attempts to re-open having been dogged by cases of infections among students in late 2020, once again forcing closures up to now.

The re-opening of schools and tertiary institutions is amid apprehension by health experts over a potential Covid-19 third wave after the government recently relaxed lockdown restrictions allowing free movement of citizens.

The country, three weeks ago, began its Covid-19 vaccination programme, which overtime is expected to curtail the impact of the coronavirus.

As at March 15, Zimbabwe had recorded 36 504 cases of infection and 1 504 deaths, with 37 660 frontline workers having been vaccinated.

New Ziana