South Africa ready to reopen schools despite surge in Covid-19 cases
What you need to know:
- Where practicably possible, learners from the "not-so-ready schools" will be moved to neighbouring schools.
- The announcement came as the country recorded 2,312 new cases in the past 24 hours.
- The total number of deaths reached 998, up by 45 from Saturday, according to the latest official figures.
Cape Town
South Africa will go ahead with its plan to reopen schools for pupils of certain grades on Monday after a suspension of more than two months, a minister said Sunday amid a continued surge in Covid-19 cases.
"We can now say with confidence that about 95 per cent of our schools have been ably provided with the Covid-19 related imperatives for reopening,” Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said.
The Department of Education had originally planned to reopen schools on June 1 but postponed the reopening to June 8 after finding out that most schools required more time to prepare for resumption in order to comply with the health, safety and social distancing measures.
The resumption of schooling on Monday "is now more possible than a week ago," the minister said.
PROTECT RIGHTS
The education sector, with the assistance of its partners, will strive to deal with the remaining 5 per cent to ensure that the unfettered rights to health, safety and basic education for all South African children are protected, she said.
The golden rule is that no school will resume if it is not ready, Motshekga said.
Where practicably possible, learners from the "not-so-ready schools" will be moved to neighbouring schools that meet the various requirements, she said.
The announcement came as the country recorded 2,312 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 48,285.
REDUCE INFECTIONS
The total number of deaths reached 998, up by 45 from Saturday, according to the latest official figures.
In apparent reference to concerns over school reopening, Motshekga said that the national lockdown was not introduced to grind life in general to a sudden halt, but to reduce the rate of infections.
"We have done and will continue to do our level best to ensure that our schools are safe. All of us are therefore called to do whatever we are expected to do, to ensure that our school communities and spaces do not become the new hotspots for the Covid-19 pandemic," she said.
