ABSTRACT:
Research has proven the Covid-19 pathogen as a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted through air and having contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces. The World Health Organization (WHO) set standard measures to prevent the spread of the disease which include preserving social distancing, and use of alcohol-based sanitizers when washing hands and surfaces. In Zimbabwe, the pandemic disease induced a lockdown which disrupted the national academic calendar for the year 2020. Schools were closed on the 24th of March. In a bid to mitigate the Covid-19 induced crisis, the government of Zimbabwe eased the lockdown restrictions resulting in the reopening of schools six months after imposing the lockdown. According to the ARTUZ investigation, the reopening of schools was done without the government supplying adequate resources to curb the spread of the pandemic disease in public schools. In all the ten provinces of Zimbabwe, about twenty schools per province were inspected to check if the schools adhere to the WHO stipulated guidelines of Covid-19 prevention. The ARTUZ investigation also sought to check on the schools’ adherence to the Standard of Operation Procedures (SOP) that was crafted by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC). The outcome of the ARTUZ investigation reflected that all sampled schools were Covid-19 danger zones because of shortages of required resources to reduce the spread of the pandemic disease.
Read the full report here (854 KB PDF)
Source: Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
