Schools no longer opening in July amid covid 19 case spike

The recent spike in the number of covid 19 cases has caused panic. With over a thousand recorded cases and a lot more expected to be recorded, government has decided to take a step back on the issue of schools reopening. Schools that had been set to reopen on 28 July have since been directed to defer the opening.

July has seen an alarming increase in the number of local transmissions. In a rent post cabinet briefing, Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said cabinet had agreed to defer the opening of schools pending review measures. It would have been too risky to go ahead with opening of schools considering that the spike has mainly been caused by local transmissions.

Some of the measures that cabinet agreed on is to introduce localised lockdowns in hotspot areas. Any further reopening of the economy has also been halted. The tightening of lockdown restrictions comes at a time when people have been panicking over the increase. A recent confirmation also revealed that a member of the Public service commission who lives in Chitungwiza was recently diagnosed with the virus. A directive has since been issued to all PSC members who use the same bus to self isolate at home for the coming two weeks.

The issue of covid 19 has caused economic and social devastation worldwide. Neighboring South Africa is now at number 8 in the world with the highest recorded number of cases. This has also had a bearing on the country’s statistics considering the number of people returning from South Africa with the virus. Speculation is high that the president will tighten further lockdown restrictions in order to try and reduce the spread of the virus