The Provincial Education Department says the infection rate in schools represents 3,29% of the provincial statistics as it relates to the pandemic. The province currently has a total of 13 564 positive cases, 165 deaths, and 10 256 recoveries. The departmental spokesperson, Geoffrey van der Merwe, says they are working tirelessly to curb the spread of the virus in schools and are appealing to parents and guardians to keep their children at home if they show any symptoms of the virus.

Van der Merwe says they have put in place different measures to ensure the health and safety of educators and learners and he confirms the education system is so far progressing well in terms of flattening the Covid-19 curve and ensuring curriculum coverage.

He says schools are making use of differentiated timetables and a rotation system to ensure adherence to Covid-19 guidelines.

“We will continue to follow our standard operating procedures to the letter and adhere to the Covid-19 regulations and guidelines. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we wear our face masks, wash our hands with soap or an alcohol-based sanitiser, and to maintain social distancing at all times,” he added.

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