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Leonard Ncube
Victoria Falls Reporter
An isolation centre has been established at George Silundika High School in Nyamandlovu, Matabeleland North, after 44 pupils and staff tested positive to Covid-19.
The school joins St David’s Bonda Girls High School in Manicaland Province, Embakwe High and Sacred Heart Girls High schools in Matabeleland South province, having more learners testing positive to Covid-19 this year. St David’s Bonda Girls High recorded 145 cases among students and staff while Embakwe had 91, and Sacred Heart reported 230 cases.
Matabeleland North provincial medical director Dr Munekai Padingani yesterday said everyone at the school was being tested and 350, which is half the population of learners and staff, had been tested so far. He said one pupil started showing symptoms last week and tested positive resulting in all contacts being tested.
“It started with one case of a student and we sent a Rapid Results Team from Nyamandlovu and then we tested contacts and five came out positive,” said Dr Padingani.
“We decided to test all of them and we are now testing everyone and one teacher was positive also although we are still waiting for consolidation of yesterday’s statistics.
“We want to test the whole school and so far we have tested 350 which is half and we have 44 cases. Just like we did at John Tallach we have put an isolation centre there.”
Dr Padingani said some of the cases are symptomatic while others are not.
“George Silundika is the only school with new cases in the province,” he said.
The province was hard hit by Covid-19 last year when pupils and staff at John Tallach tested positive resulting in premature closure of schools.
Dr Padingani encouraged schools to continually adhere to set health standards to avoid infections and news cases. Last year, Government set up Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that have proved effective in dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks at learning institutions.
The SOPs prohibit hugs, handshakes and sharing of desks in schools. Break and lunch time must be staggered to prevent crowding by learners while sporting activities are banned.
A classroom should only accommodate a maximum of 35 pupils to allow for social distancing. Umguza and Hwange districts account for most of the cases that have been reported in the province because of proximity to Bulawayo and the country’s borders.
Meanwhile, health workers in the province are also carrying out investigations at Sino Hydro in Hwange where 25 job seekers tested positive last week. The company, which is contracted to expand Hwange Power Station’s Unit 7 and 8, was recruiting new workers and as per policy, all prospective job seekers were tested and 18 came out positive.
Five more tested positive on Saturday bringing the number to 25 although all are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, according to Hwange District Medical Officer Dr Fungai Musinami-Mvura. As at Wednesday, Matabeleland North has 85 active cases after recording 32 new cases on Tuesday.
The province has recorded 1 364 cases and 18 deaths since the first case was reported in March last year. The province has vaccinated close to 40 000 people.
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