Paul Nyathi

GIRLS College in Bulawayo has indefinitely closed following a Covid-19 case which was detected after the school held a leavers’ party for Upper Six students.

This development comes at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in Bulawayo which now has the highest number of active cases in Zimbabwe.

As at 25 November 2020, Zimbabwe had 9 506 confirmed cases, including 8 336 recoveries and 274 deaths.
Bulawayo has in the past five days recorded seven deaths which constitutes 77 percent of the total deaths reported in Zimbabwe during the same time.

Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Welcome Mlilo confirmed the Girls College incident saying contact tracing is currently ongoing.

Concerned parents said their children were informed yesterday morning that Girls College had to close to avert the spread of Covid-19.

In a letter addressed to parents dated November 24, Girls College principal Mrs Les Ross said the school continues to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff and students with daily monitoring of temperatures, regular sanitising of all surfaces, mask wearing and social distancing.

“As you know, on Thursday 19th November Girls College held a Leavers’ Dinner Dance for our U6 Leavers. The event was held in a large open venue and numbers of both guests and staff working at the event were kept below 100. Unfortunately, since the dance one of the attendees has tested positive for Covid-19,” read the statement.

She said the virus has been contained within the U6 group as they had for the most part finished their exams and left the school and hostels some time before the dance.

“As the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Bulawayo is on the increase, we once again remind parents not to send their daughters to school if they are unwell or have a temperature.

“We continue to offer lessons and exams online to any students who feel they are at risk or may have been in contact with someone who is infected.”