POSSIBLE REOPENING OF MALAWI SCHOOLS NEXT WEEK AMID COVID 19 SURGE
BY LIMBANI NSAPATO
In mid January, the President ordered closure of schools for 3 weeks; meaning that next week schools should reopen. I hope that both private and public schools have been prepared to ensure strict adherence to covid prevention measures.
Otherwise Covid is on exponential rise and we need to take stricter measures. The number of positive cases registered in January alone was 17,380, out of 23,963, representing 72% of total number of cases since the first positive case was recorded in April 2020.
The number of deaths recorded in January alone was 513 out of 702 representing 73% of all deaths recorded since April 2020. Positive cases in some schools where tests were done on students e.g. Lilongwe Girls Secondary school were around 50% or more, showing a higher rate of infection.
There were also sporadic reports of teachers dying from COVID 19 complications, demonstrating that teachers are more vulnerable to the pandemic.
Let’s balance the right to education with the right to life. Let schools reopen with assurance of maximum protection of both teachers and students from contracting the corona virus.
