This development comes on the back of threats by civil rights organisation, Afriforum, to have the Basic Education, Health and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs departments (Cogta) interdicted for infringing on the parents’ right to choose where their children should be quarantined. 

OFM News reports Afriforum has in a statement released on Thursday afternoon expressed their satisfaction at the outcome, adding that they are grateful “justice has triumphed”.

Spokesperson for the Free State Education Department, Howard Ndaba, confirms the learners have indeed been granted permission to self-isolate at home for 14 days. The parents were reportedly unhappy with being informed their children “would be state property for 14 days”. 

Ndaba, however, declined to comment on allegations made by Afriforum, that the teenagers were placed in groups of three and four at the Bloemfontein guesthouse, making self-isolation difficult. He redirected queries pertaining to the quarantine site to the provincial health department. Meanwhile classes for the remaining learners are continuing as planned at the school.

The OFM News team interviewed the Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein, Cloete van Vuuren, who explained that when children do contract the coronavirus, research reveals that they only develop a mild form of the disease. 

This is because the risk factors that lean towards the severe form of the illness are old age, diabetes - type two, specifically - hypertension and obesity.  “All in all the risk for children is infinitely small. The reason why schools were closed initially is that children have three times more contact with other people as opposed to adults at work”. 

He says the only purpose closing schools was to retard the spread of the coronavirus so that the country’s healthcare system is not overburdened. Government did not shut down schools to completely prevent learners from contracting it, making the Grey College matter unsurprising, explained Van Vuuren. He says what is in fact surprising, is people’s reaction to the incident.

OFM News