Geoffrey van der Merwe, spokesperson for the Department of Education in the Northern Cape, says he can confirm that six schools in the Northern Cape have been closed due to Covid-19.
“The schools are mostly in the Pixley Ka Seme district. The health department is conducting tests in the district.”
He says Covid-19 did not break out in the area, even though the schools were closed.
The schools were closed only as a precaution. Some of these schools have already received their results, which came back negative. Those schools will be reopened soon.
Protestors against schools opening
A group of people, including teachers, parents and community members, spoke at schools on Thursday morning in Cape Town. The group believes children’s safety is at risk because schools have reopened.
The protesters are holding up a poster saying the schools should be closed. The protesters say their children’s lives are in danger of reopening schools. Many people protested about the schools in Cape Town on Thursday.
#TeachersProtestInCapeTown
— MURRAY WILLIAMS (@MurrayRSA) June 25, 2020
Edward Ontong, a teacher at Mary Harding School in Athlone, believes schools being open during the "peak" of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Western Cape will "seriously aggravate the situation".@News24 @TeamNews24 pic.twitter.com/wt54ux4Fxa