The Free State Department of Education has temporarily closed Grey College Secondary School in Bloemfontein after learners and teachers tested positive to COVID-19. Department Spokesperson Howard Ndaba says 53 learners and seven teachers, amongst them principal and his deputy, all tested positive.
Ndaba says the department has decided to suspend classes at the school due to a growing number of cases.
“Following advice by the Department of Health, we then took a decision, a painstaking decision given the time that we had already lost to temporarily suspend classes so that we allow the process to make sure that we respond to the situation,” says Ndaba.
Ndaba says they have requested the school to use an online platform to make sure that learners receive tuition at home.
The provincial department says it will be returning learners in a staggered format, with Grade 10 to 12 returning on the 23rd and Grade 8 and 9 will return to school on the 30th of August.
SA COVID-19 | Prof Tulio De Oliveira on COVID-19 related matters
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported 14 271 new COVID-19 cases in the country on Thursday.
This brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 568 511. A further 473 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 76 247.
The province with the highest number of new coronavirus cases is the Western Cape with 3 701 followed closely by KwaZulu-Natal with 3 603 and Gauteng now has 2 259 new cases.
COVID-19 stats: 12 August
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