The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
BOARDING school pupils will not be allowed to go home this Easter, while their parents will also not be permitted to visit them as Government strengthens health and safety measures over the usually busy holidays.
Under a phased reopening strategy, this year’s school calendar was kickstarted by the resumption of examination classes on 15 March. The rest of the classes opened a week later on 22 March.
The announcement on boarding schools was one of several in a cocktail of measures announced by President Mnangagwa in a bid to curtail the spread of Covid-19 during the holidays. He said the country would be at greater risk during the Easter period.
“Zimbabweans will be celebrating Easter holidays from this Friday, April 2, 2021. This Christian Commemoration ends on April 5 when our nation celebrates Easter Monday. In keeping with Christian practices, Zimbabweans flock to different places of worship, with some visiting Holy Shrines. Still others may travel beyond our borders for the same purpose. The risk of disease transmission during the period is thus predictably high. To safeguard our nation, we need to take some additional measures to avoid a third wave of the pandemic which is already attacking some nations of the world,” said President Mnangagwa.
In addition to the restriction on boarding school exits and visits, President Mnangagwa said travelers coming into the country would require valid PCR tests before they visited the country.
“For the duration of the Easter holidays, travellers coming into the country from neighbouring states must undergo valid Covid-19 PCR tests not more than 48 hours from time of their departure for Zimbabwe. School learners who are in boarding schools will not be permitted to travel back home. Equally, no parents will travel to concerned schools for purposes of visits.”
President Mnangagwa said bars and nightclubs would remain closed for the duration of the holidays while the church gatherings would still be limited to 50 people.
