Schools in South Africa will close again for four weeks following a spike in COVID-19 cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday.
Ramaphosa, who addressed the nation, said that the break will begin on July 27 until August 24, with the exception of Grade 12 learners who will take a one-week break, and Grade 7 learners who will take a two-week break. Ramaphosa added that specific arrangements will be made for different categories of schools.
Ramaphosa said the move was important to avoid schools becoming “sites of transmission” at a time when infections were increasing.
“Taking into account the views of the various stakeholders and expert bodies, Cabinet has decided today that all public schools should take a break for the next four weeks. This has also been the experience in a number of other countries where schools have opened and have also had to close due to the circumstances that each country has had to confront,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said that the disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the school year will be extended beyond the end of 2020.
“We have taken a deliberately cautious approach to keep schools closed during a period when the country is expected to experience its greatest increase in infections.”
Ramaphosa said that the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) will continue to operate to allow learners or their parents to be able to collect food directly from schools.
Last month, children began returning to schools as part of a gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions by the government. Only pupils in grades 7 and 12 were allowed to return to schools while other years were to be phased in gradually.
The reopening was initially postponed by the Department of Basic Education following concerns that a majority of schools were not ready to accommodate students.
Ramaphosa also noted that infections in the Western Cape had leveled off providing some hope that the province had passed the peak of its infections.
Ramaphosa, however, urged South Africans to remain cautious and vigilant and to continue following strict health measures to avoid another rise in infections as witnessed in other countries.
South Africa currently has 408,052 confirmed cases which is the fifth highest global total and it accounts for more than half of the cases in Africa.
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