Government prohibits boarding school visits over spike in covid19 cases
By Memory Mudzani
The Zimbabwe government has banned visits to boarding schools over fears of a spike in Covid-19 cases.
From the information recorded by ZIMFACT the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education says the current suspension notice on visits applies to this term, and is subject to review during the coming school terms.
The director of communications and advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Taungana Ndoro said the ban is meant to manage and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is not allowing visiting by parents and guardians to schools this term because COVID -19 cases are escalating, and we need to manage and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our schools,” said Ndoro
Schools that were meant to have visits on 25 February have communicated the government ban, and have cancelled the scheduled visits until further notice.
The Zimbabwe health authorities have called on people to remain vigilant, saying it is concerned by a spike in new Covid-19 cases the country has been recording since December 2022.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has similarly warned that the Covid-19 pandemic is alive globally, a message arising from worries that many people were dropping their guard and countries relaxing their Covid-19 management systems too quickly despite the emergence of new Covid-19 variants.
Ndoro said Zimbabwean education authorities would continue to enforce the standard operating procedures that were put in place to manage the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
according to the Ministry of Health and Child Care Situation Report ,in January 2023, Zimbabwe recorded an increase in COVID -19 cases and on 19 February official records showed 19 new cases, 49 recoveries and a total of 867 active cases countrywide.
An outbreak investigation published in 2022 which was conducted at a boarding school in Mashonaland East in 2020, overcrowding in boarding schools was noted as a major factor in the rapid spread of the virus.
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