Covid-19 cases rise to 132 at Sacred Heart school

11 Apr, 2021 - 00:04 0 Views
Covid-19 cases rise to 132 at Sacred Heart school Mr Taungana Ndoro

The Sunday News

Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Sunday News Reporter
CASES of Covid-19 at Sacred Heart Primary and Sacred Heart Girls High Schools in Esigodini, Matabeleland South province had risen to 132 as of yesterday and Government has since quarantined the Catholic run institutions following the outbreak.

This means all the students, teaching and non-teaching staff are not allowed to leave the schools or interact with people from outside until the situation is contained. Matabeleland South provincial director for Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases Control Dr Andrew Muza confirmed that the number of positive cases in the schools was now 132, while more results were still trickling in.

“The cases at Sacred Heart have risen to 132. This includes students, teachers and other non-teaching staff. We are still compiling more information because the testing is still ongoing. Our team on the ground has not informed us of any cases at Mzingwane High School as reported by social media,” he said.

Director of Communication and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro said Sacred Heart schools have been quarantined in accordance with the Standard Operation Procedures and Ministry of Health and Child Care guidelines.

“As the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education we are concerned with Covid-19 cases in schools. However, the situation is under control and learning will proceed. We are looking at the cases in schools on a case-by-case basis.

What we are doing is that if a school has many cases, we quarantine the school. We are still gathering information from one of the most affected schools in Matabeleland South, Sacred Heart Girls High School. We have recorded about 40 cases excluding those at Sacred Heart. In other schools, numbers are minimal,” he said.

Mr Ndoro said the ministry had established that the continued interaction between students at Sacred Heart High School and the surrounding communities was a major cause for the surging cases. On Friday, Vice-President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Constantino Chiwenga, implored Zimbabweans to remain vigilant and protect themselves from new Covid-19 infections, which are manifesting in new variants.

He said people should adhere to World Health Organisation (WHO) health protocols meant to curb the spread of the pandemic.

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