So far, more than 100 schools countrywide have been hit by
new infections with some schools in Bulawayo having been affected.
Some private schools closed early to prevent the spread of
Covid-19 following the outbreak of the Omicron variant which has spiked the
fourth wave. Other schools ended up resorting to online learning in the run-up
to the schools closing day last Friday.
The country has over the last two weeks seen a 472 percent
surge in new Covid-19 cases.
The last genomic sequencing has linked all the cases to the
highly transmissible new Omicron variant. As of Saturday, Zimbabwe had recorded
191 673 confirmed cases, including 135 755 recoveries and 4 782 deaths.
Recently, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education
communications and advocacy director, Mr Taungana Ndoro revealed that over 100
schools had recorded Covid-19 cases countrywide.
The Education Ministry is working with the Ministry of
Health and Child Care to contain the situation through enforcing the World
Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
Ahead of the schools closing day last Friday, the Ministry
of Health and Child Care directed health authorities in all the country’s
provinces to ensure that all pupils at boarding schools who caught the virus
must remain quarantined at their learning institutions as others went home for
the holidays.
Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director, Dr Maphios
Siamuchembu confirmed the development.
He said the Ministry of Health and Child Care directed
school authorities to make sure that learners in isolation must remain in
school until they are cleared to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“As schools closed, those children who are in isolation
because they have tested positive for Covid-19 remain in their current
isolation facilities until the end of their isolation period. My office regrets
any inconvenience caused, but we cannot deliberately allow infected people to
go around spreading the virus,” he said.
Dr Siamuchembu said the city has over 70 pupils affected by
the directive.
He appealed to well-wishers to assist the affected schools
with donations as their budgets were limited to keep and feed students beyond
the closing day.
Dr Siamuchembu said one of the schools, Luveve High School
does not have piped water and needs stakeholders’ support.
“I might as well take the opportunity to appeal to the
Bulawayo community for assistance with resources for these pupils. The schools
do not have a budget to keep and feed the pupils,” he said.
“Besides Luveve, another affected school is Townsend which
has 66 girls and two cooks in quarantine.”
Dr Siamuchembu said well-wishers can approach the affected
schools with donations.
Last Tuesday, President Mnangagwa extended the Covid-19
Level Two national lockdown by a further two weeks, citing the rapid rise in
infections driven by the new Omicron variant.
The President also moderately tightened the lockdown by
scaling down Government activities, enforcing masks for all private and public
commuters and asking businesses to implement earlier festive season shutdowns
than usual.
In her post Cabinet briefing last week, Information,
Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government
was concerned with the recent jump in daily Covid-19 infections.
The rise in Covid-19 infections comes at a time when
Zimbabwe, among other nations, has started to record Omicron cases which the
World Health Organisation (WHO) described as a variant of concern given its
perceived risks.
To date, over four million people have been vaccinated
against Covid-19, with 3 999 170 having received their first dose and 3 013 385
receiving their second dose as at Wednesday.
In November last year, more than 180 Covid-19 cases were
recorded at John Tallach in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North, the highest that
a single school has recorded since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.
Chronicle
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