ZIMBABWE – One of Bulawayo’s top private schools, Girls College has indefinitely been shut down following a positive Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.
According to a local publication, the closure of Girls College comes a few days after COVID-19 cases were reported at 3 other schools, Chinhoyi High, Herentals College, and John Tallach Secondary School.
The development was confirmed by Girls College principal Mrs. Les Ross in a letter she wrote to concerned parents informing them about the closure of the institution in an effort o avert the spread of the disease.
“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and the numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” reads the statement.
Currently, Covid-19 cases are on the rise and Bulawayo now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.
Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr. Welcome Mlilo bemoaned the spike of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo stating that:
“We are recording a steady rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of late. This is obviously a worrying trend, but we believe it’s also a testament to our strong surveillance system in the province. It means we are suspecting and testing the right segment of the population. It’s testament to good contact tracing.”
“This unfortunately also reveals that Covid-19 continues to spread in the community. Bulawayo is expecting a sharp rise in the number of returning residents from Botswana and South Africa, Injiva. As such, we are working on some measures to put in place to ensure the safety of communities and to minimize the spread of the virus over the holiday season.”
Meanwhile, members of Parliament on Wednesday demanded for the immediate closure of schools, accusing the government of rushing to bring back children in schools when it was not prepared to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
