By Dr Takavafira Zhou
We said it before and would say it now, that it was suicidal to open schools without concrete plans to combat covid 19. That we chose to ignore professional advice, we now cant choose to ignore designing an intervention plan in affected schools in particular and other schools in general. The honest truth is that there are covid cases in almost more than 50% of our schools and if we dont find a agent intervention plan we may fail to contain the spread of covid 19 in schools.
If schools affected had testing kits we could be having high figures even beyond 300 in some schools. Figures of partial tests in schools do not lie, viz,
1. Chegato High (Mberengwa – Midlands), 60 out of 115 students tested.
2. Gutu High, (Gutu), 52
3. Masase High (Mberengwa – Midlands), 40
4. Bulu High, 33
5. Mnene High, (Mberengwa), 13
6. Daramombe, 13
7. Neshangwe High (Mash East), 12 out of 36 tested.
8. Msume High (Mberengwa), 7 out of only 12 students tested
9. Tongwe High (Mat South)
10. Kristie Mambo (Rusape – Manicaland)
11. Nyamhuka Primary (Manicaland) etc
12. Chemhanza High
These low figures are simply reflective of the shortage of testing kits than low infections. Almost every boarding School has an infection. Conglomeration in schools without testing teachers, students and ancillary staff was a great mistake committed by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Shortage of covid abatenent equipment and running water are real in schools, so likewise are bloated classes and congested hostels. The earlier gvt embarks on a testing regime of students, teachers and ancillary staff at all affected schools, the better and then move to a second phase of similar testing at all boarding schools and third phase of targeting all schools, and vaccination of all willing teachers and students above 15 years. As much as students’ recovery rate is commendable they remain vectors of covid transmission to their parents and relatives so much that the country will have a quantum leap of covid cases if there are no intervention plans. It is, therefore, prudent to combat covid 19 cases in schools. A national intervention plan is long overdue. We can no longer depend on peddling of falsehoods from Taungana Ndoro’s homelitic bellicose. The time for a comprehensive intervention plan is now. There is also urgent need to assist schools affected in terms of management of quarantine centres within a school, fumigation, covid abatement equipment, provision of tents, drilling of boreholes, feeding system, provision of food, health management, and psychological therapy to both students and teachers, among many other things. It is our hope that these schools without a direct ear to the president would receive the best assistance even from the President of the country. Hope the medallist in verbal lies would not continue to design intervention plans far detached from challenges experienced by schools.
Venceremos
Dr Takavafira M. Zhou (Ptuz President)
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