By GIDEON NYENDWA
GOVERNMENT should consider delaying the reopening of schools by at least two more weeks considering the alarming rate at which Covid-19 cases are rising, Basic Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) has advised.
Meanwhile the Zimbabwean government has officially said that the reopening of schools would be delayed until further notice due to the escalating cases of the Omicron variant that the country had recorded in the past few days.
And BETUZ secretary general Henry Sinkala said that it was better that the opening of schools was delayed because of the rate at which the Covid-19 virus was evolving.
Mr Sinkala said that the positive rate that the country was recording was alarming and it was dangerous to expose the children who were not even vaccinated and yet have become more vulnerable to the pandemic.
He said that most schools in the country do not have enough space to properly achieve social distance.
Mr. Sinkala further encouraged parents to take their children who were eligible to get the vaccine because that was the only way to reduce the number of infections.
He said that if at least 70 percent of the population was vaccinated, the country would not have been talking about delaying the opening of school because most people would have been partially protected.
“Most people who are not vaccinated are the ones getting infected,” he said.
He said recording the positivity rate of more than 5000 within 24 hours should be a source of concern for everyone.
Mr. Sinkala also said that the number of cases were likely to go up looking at the festivities that were happening in the country.
And Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa said the week of closing the year had seen their country record a total of 10,384 cases and 142 deaths hence resorting to an extension of school holiday with the exception of examination classes.
Dr. Mnangagwa also said that the current level of national lockdown was extended by another two weeks.
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