Govt allays concerns over Covid-19 situation in schools

The current situation of Covid-19 in schools is not worrying, Dr Daniel Ngamije, the Minister for Health, has said, easing public concerns that the virus could be widespread in schools. Ngamije said this on Wednesday, December 16, while speaking at a press conference. Dr Ngamije, along with his counterparts for Local Government; Sports; and Trade and Industry; as well as Rwanda National Police Spokesperson, was addressing the media to shed more light on the recently announced Covid-19 directives. A month ago, the government launched a countrywide testing exercise in schools to assess the prevalence of the virus among students. By then, the Ministry of Education had said that 3,000 Covid-19 sample tests would be collected in schools. According to Ngamije, outcomes of the exercise detected a few cases. “Schools are among places where Covid-19 cases were identified, but they were few and not alarming,” he said, disclosing that most of the infected students contracted it from fellow students who reside in refugee camps. Refugee camps are among the major Covid-19 hotspots in Rwanda. Others, the minister added, contracted the virus from hospitals where they had gone for different medical checkups and ended up being infected. Thirty Covid-19 cases have hirtherto been recorded in schools, Ngamije told The New Times later, allaying fears that the situation could spin out of control. Several schools – nursery, primary and secondary – resumed face to face learning on November 2, following more than seven months of closure in a bid to prevent the Covid-19 spread. Upon reopening, the Government instituted Covid-19 guidelines that schools were requested to adhere to, including availing hand sanitizers or handwashing facilities, ensuring that physical distancing is observed and among others making sure that all students and school employees wear facemasks properly. Besides schools, Ngamije said that no positive case was identified in a recent random Covid-19 testing exercise among churches across the country. At least 300 tests had been collected. Currently, overall, Rwanda has confirmed 6,832 Covid-19 cases, of whom 6,036 have already recovered. The country’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 57. In the wake of surging Covid-19 cases, the Government on Monday issued fresh directives bid to prevent the further spread of the virus.

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Govt allays concerns over Covid-19 situation in schools