Mbabane: At the height of the reopening of schools by government, it is worth noting that according to statistics released by the Minister of Health Lizzy Nkosi on Sunday, about 18 percent (over 300 people) are supposedly in the school-going age group have contracted the Coronavirus.
The aforesaid number of people are strongly perceived to be school going because there are within the ages of 0-9 and 10-19. In Eswatini, school going children are those with ages ranging from 6-19 years but can exceed the 19-year age if that individual failed the previous grades.
According to the daily updates on COVID-19, there were over 147 confirmed cases within 0-9 age group (80 males and 67 females) and 174 within 10-19 age group (72 males and 102 females). Normally, children start attending formal learning from the age of six (6). Primary school going children are those within 6-12 and those in secondary are those within 13-19 years. Notably, there is only one person who succumbed to Covid-19 related illness. That was a 17-year old male who died on June 22, 2020. The ministry of health said the deceased was from the country’s epicenter, Manzini Region, and he was reportedly had complications with pre-existing respiratory illnesses. He was previously admitted at RFM hospital for known chronic respiratory ailment complicated by abnormalities of the chest.
Monday, July 6, marked the first day of the phased reopening of schools in Eswatini, beginning with form 5s and completing classes in tertiary institutions. The rest of the classes will follow suit in due time as per the Prime Minister’s address on reopening the learning institutions.
Based on the premise that government has allowed the opening of schools for Form Vs and VI, it can be arguably said that about 94 of them have contracted Covid-19.
SNAT Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini said they were not against the reopening of schools but rather fighting against the ill-preparedness exhibited by the government. Dlamini said the incident that took place at Salesian came to them (SNAT) as a tip of their concerns as some people could be asymptomatic and infect others without knowing.
Dlamini added that professionals are needed to deal with this as screening temperatures alone does not always display that a person has COVID-19 hence government should pay more attention more especially in the hot spot areas.
On another Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) President Bheki Mamba said another challenge faced on the reopening on schools is the fact that other teachers and students have underlying sicknesses like Asthma, chest infections, pneumonia amongst many. Dlamini said readings from people with this underlying sickness should be interpreted by qualified personnel.
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