Covid-19 hits Umzingwane school

Source: Covid-19 hits Umzingwane school | The Herald

A boarding school in Umzingwane district in Matabeleland South province has become the latest to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic after it recorded 55 positive cases, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said on Friday.

The ministry did not immediately identify the school.

The infections at the school made up the bulk of the 68 new Covid-19 cases that the country recorded on Thursday, the highest number registered in over one and half months.

“Sixty eight (68) new cases (all local) and one death reported in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Fifty five (55) cases are from one boarding school in Umzingwane, Matabelenad South.”

Schools opened for the first term of the year late last month after a Covid-19 precautionary delay of three months following warnings of a potential third wave.

Since the re-opening, one other school, Prince Edward in Harare, reported that at least seven of its students had tested positive for the coronavirus.

As part of the wider measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19, government has directed schools with a higher number of students to implement a rotational time table that allows pupils to attend class on different days to allow them to practice social distancing.

As at April 8, Zimbabwe had recorded 37 052 positive cases and 1 532 deaths, and with a vaccination drive underway, at least 166 543 people have received the first dose. –  New Ziana