The Gauteng Education Department says matric learners that test positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) will be accommodated at the Nasrec field hospital south of Johannesburg to complete their National Senior Certificate examinations.
The hospital has been established to admit COVID-19 patients. Nine matric learners from five districts in the province have contracted the virus. The Department says the learners will be quarantined at the facility for the 10-day required isolation period.
Spokesperson Steve Mabona says, “We have recorded about nine cases where our candidates confirmed that they were COVID-19 positive. They were administered in different isolation rooms at our exam centres. However, we felt that in the process to mitigate the transmission and unnecessary illness of other people, with effect from the 16th of November 2020, all candidates that test positive will be admitted at Nasrec.”
Meanwhile, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says her department is coordinating with the Health Department in establishing isolation rooms at schools around the country to enable matriculants that test positive for the coronavirus to write their exams.
Over a million learners will write exams this year, the largest group to write in the country’s history.
The Department is administering a combined examination with both full time and part-time learners.
Over 616 000 of those writing are full-time candidates that will sit for their final examination for the first time.
Motshekga says although it has been a tough year in dealing with the disruptions that the coronavirus pandemic has caused, she is optimistic that the class of 2020 will pull through the year:
