Govt Speaks on Closing Schools After Rise in Covid-19 Cases

The Ministry of Health on Thursday, October 22, broke silence over the rising Covid-19 cases in learning institutions.

Speaking to journalists, Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi stated that the rising infections should not be a cause of worry among parents, saying that it was expected that some of the individuals in the learning institutions would contract the virus.

She added that the Ministry had sent out a number of doctors to the affected schools to determine the extent of the cases.

Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi addressing the media on August 20, 2020.

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"We have a team of doctors that we have sent to the ministry of education and after assessment, we will be able to know the measures that can be put in place to ensure that the issue is under control," Mwangangi stated.

The CAS was speaking in light of the two schools in Mombasa, Star of the Sea High School and Tononoka High School, that were shut down after teachers contracted the disease.

Education CAS Zack Kinuthia reiterated Mwangangi's words saying that the ministry had ruled out the mass closure of schools.

He stated that the ministry would deal with the Covid-19 cases on a case by case basis.

"Schools will not be closed based on the cases in Mombasa. If a school is found to be a threat, we close the school or the student is isolated and learning will continue.

"It would be a problem if all the schools reported cases but as the situation stands now, schools will not be closed, however, the ministry will keep observing the trends very closely," Kinuthia declared.

Further, he assured parents that the government was on high alert and in control of the situation.

"The decision was not rushed. We had six months of deliberations. What we are seeing are signs that can be managed, they are bottlenecks, which are common in any organisational restructuring process," he added.

Last week, the Ministry of Health announced that it would embark on random testing of Covid-19 in schools.

Kinuthia has since stated that random tests will be conducted but added that the government was not in a position to conduct mass testing due to the high expense.

Education CAS Zack Kinuthia in an interview with Kenyans.co.ke presenter Kimani Mbugua

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