Three more schools in the Amajuba District have closed as a result of Covid-19 infections in addition to St Dominics, which closed last week after a teacher tested positive for the virus.

Huttenpark Primary School (in Hutten Heights), Sizakancane Primary School (in Blaauwbosch) and Mziwethu High School (in Dannhauser) have all advised parents to temporarily keep their children at home after a learner at Huttenpark and a teacher at each of the other schools were confirmed positive for Covid-19.

Huttenpark Primary issued a letter to parents yesterday informing them that a grade 7 learner tested positive for Covid-19. Learners in the same class as the affected child, as well as teachers, will be tested for Covid-19 by the Department of Health tomorrow morning (June 17). The school has requested that all grade 7 learners remain at home until Monday and will issue further instructions pending the outcome of the test results.

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Principal of Huttenpark, Nieil Grobler, said the grade 7 learner showed no symptoms of Covid-19 while at school last week Monday and Tuesday. When the learner complained of a sore throat on Wednesday morning, his parents took him to a doctor who tested him for the virus, and he has not been to school since then.

“I have been in contact with his mother who says that he has not had any other symptoms other than the sore throat, and he is back to feeling 100 per cent,” said Mr Grobler.

He urged parents to stay calm and trust that everything possible is being done to create a safe environment at school.

In this week’s print edition of the Newcastle Advertiser, Mr Grobler explains why he feels it is in children’s best interest for parents to allow them to attend school, talks about digital platforms that are being used for teaching children who are still at home, and discusses how social distancing will be implemented when all grades are required to return to the classroom.

ALSO READ: [WATCH] A look at Amajuba’s Covid-19 mobile testing station

Principal of Sizakancane, Mr T Tsotetsi, notified parents that teachers and learners who were in contact with the teacher who is positive for the coronavirus, would be tested for Covid-19 by the Department of Health, and the date when the school will be re-opened will be communicated via Newcastle Community Radio.

District Director of Education, Themi Nzama, said teaching at all three schools would resume after the schools are thoroughly disinfected. The Department of Education has already identified a company which will carry out the sanitisation of the rural schools, while the management of Huttenpark will take responsibility for the sanitisation of that school.

Mr Nzama confirmed that all of the schools in the Amajuba District have received personal protective equipment, school principals and management teams have been trained on how to handle Covid-19, every school is linked to a clinic to ensure that there are no delays in healthcare, and schools were inspected to ensure that there are clear markings to facilitate social distancing.

“We are working very closely with the Department of Health to monitor each and every school. The pandemic is difficult to contain. We need to understand and accept that teachers and learners are also part of the community. While we are doing everything we can to reduce the risk of infection at the schools, we cannot isolate schools from the rest of the community,” conceded Mr Nzama.