Epidemiologist Titus Divala has advised government to tread carefully when reopening schools in the face of Covid-19.

President Lazarus Chakwera announced in his weekly address on Covid-19 that schools will be evaluated independently from this week and that those that meet certain criteria will be allowed to reopen early September.

“For instance, in the education cluster of the task force, guidelines have already been developed on what schools need to do to reopen safely. In fact, we will start assessing the readiness of each school this coming week so that the schools that meet our safety standards can reopen early September,” Chakwera said.

Divala said Chakwera has given the national response an important challenge as the country strives towards optimal coexistence with Covid-19.