Hlokomelo Mabogale |
As the country is preparing to enter level 1 at midnight on Sunday 20th , the Eastern Cape Education MEC, Fundile Gade has learnt with shock that 98 Ethembeni high school learners have tested positive for Covid -19. All contacts of the 98 positive learners are being tracked and traced urgently to curb the spread of the virus.
Learners are currently busy with their trial examinations. Learners coming from both Burgersdorp and Middleburg have been affected. A request has been made to the departments for Psychosocial Stream to offer counselling services to all learners.
The provincial education department said the multi-departmental team dispatched is also working with families of the affected learners, testing and providing them with their results so that they can adopt regulated coping mechanisms should they test positive.
MEC Gade said the teams on the ground will assess the situation daily and offer advise should this outbreak require the activation of a multi-departmental Disaster Management team.
“A report submitted by the Department of Health has just indicated that 552 learners will also be quarantined. The report further confirmed that contact tracing has started,” said Gade. He further said of the 685 tested learners and teachers, 98 learners tested positive.
