184 Children Have Tested Positive For COVID-19 At Zimbabwe’s John Tallach High School

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health says there are now 184 children, who have contracted COVID-19 at John Tallach High School where at least 607 students and teachers are quarantined.

Matabeleland North provincial medical director, Dr. Munekayi Padingani, said the government has deployed health staff at the mission, about 40 kilometers north-east of the country’s second largest city, Bulawayo.

“The school has been closed. No one is getting in, no one is coming out. We tested everyone at the school. The school has a population of 607. So, we tested all of them and we got 184 positive (COVID-19 cases). We isolated them and quarantined everyone at the school. We put a satellite clinic at the school there. We have staff at the school. We are making follow-ups on the positive and negative ones. We are busy disinfecting the place and giving health education as well as treating anyone with any other condition.”

Non-governmental organizations have been providing sanitizers, washing buckets, soap and other basic necessities to the affected children and teachers.

Zimbabwe Christian Alliance director, Reverend Useni Sibanda, told VOA Studio 7 they are also providing counselling services.

Dr. Padingani urged Zimbabweans to follow strict COVID-19 regulations in order to avoid contracting COVID-19.

“COVID is still with us. We have to continue following what the Ministry of Health is telling us what to do, social distancing, wearing masks in public, continuously washing our hands with running water and if we don’t have soap we have to use hand sanitizers. Avoid where there are many people and make sure you are social distancing.”

According to the Ministry of Health, Zimbabwe has since March this year recorded 9,308 COVID-19 cases and 273 deaths. At least 8,288 people have recovered.

VOA Correspondent Annastacia Ndlovu contributed to this article

VOA

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