MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Amid growing pressure for schools to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic, parents expressed their concern over an incident at Sao Bras High School last week.

On Thursday, according to a parent of a matric learner, the school gates were closed when learners arrived at school. They were soon afterwards allowed access to the premises and went into their classrooms, where they were informed of Covid-19 infections at the school.

“The learners were instructed to remain in that same class until the end of the school day,” a concerned parent told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.

“My child was totally stressed out.” The parent further complained regarding the transparency between the school and the parent and learner community.

The Advertiser enquired to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) following the incident.

“The school received confirmation of a positive case on the evening of 15 July, and the relevant areas were decontaminated the next day, being 16 July. The school followed the relevant procedures and informed the parents accordingly. 

"We are not aware of anyone being locked out of the gates,” Bronagh Hammond from the WCED said.

Hammond continued by noting that the areas where the infected staff member had been were cordoned off and decontaminated.

“One must realise that schools are very large spaces and are not currently being fully utilised. So, if and when there is a need to decontaminate a school, based on evidence from the positive case on his or her movements, a decision will be made on whether to decontaminate a full site or just a section of a site where contact was made.

“This is in line with our guidelines – as advised by the Department of Health. In addition, schools are to clean continuously, as per our cleaning guidelines,” Hammond concluded.

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