SCHOOLS REOPENING POSTPONED

MBABANE – Government has postponed the reopening of schools and tertiary institutions from July 1 to July 6, 2020.

This announcement was made by the Prime Minister, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, during the COVID-19 partial lockdown update at the Cabinet Offices yesterday.
According to the PM, the postponement was necessitated by the events of the past week, where the country recorded 93 COVID-19 positive cases in five days, from June 6 to June 10, 2020. The total number of positive cases in the country is now 449, after 51 new cases were recorded yesterday.

As such, the PM said these figures had raised panic among many emaSwati. He mentioned that by any standards, it was a huge surge in the number of COVID-19 infections to be recorded in the country. Further, he urged the nation to take care of themselves and each other.

“The call is for each and every one of us to take responsibility for our actions and not let the frustrations of the partial lockdown compel us to ignore health precautions which will protect us from this virus if fully followed,” he said.
Dlamini stated that government saw it necessary to review the decision of reopening schools to ensure that all necessary precautions and preparations were in place before teachers and pupils returned to class in a safe manner.
He noted that the opening of Form V and completing classes at tertiary level was postponed to July 6, 2020. The PM said government would then analyse any developments to determine when to open classes for Grade VII and Form III.
Meanwhile, he added that the rationale behind introducing a national partial lockdown on March 27 was to allow the health system to better prepare for a surge in cases.

Establishments

The PM said the lockdown was meant to slow down the spread of the virus and ensure that health establishments were not overwhelmed with patients.
This, he said had been achieved over the past 11 weeks through a number of interventions that government had adopted and effected.
He said while the health system was stronger than it was before, they had not yet reached a stage where they could relax and hope that all would be well. “We need the cooperation of all emaSwati in ensuring that we control the spread.”
Over the past two weeks, Dlamini said government had eased the partial lockdown measures to allow the economy ‘to come back to life’ and give an opportunity to more emaSwati and businesses, which were locked up, to start operating under outlined conditions.

He mentioned that a number of other businesses would be allowed to start operating from Monday, adding that government would not hesitate to close down businesses that would fail to adhere to the conditions announced by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.
Dlamini also reminded the nation about the importance of following health precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. “As individuals, our actions have a huge bearing on the country’s overall fight against COVID-19. I, therefore, call upon each and every liSwati to be deliberate in their efforts to stay safe and beat COVID-19.”

The PM also appealed to parents to keep their children at home and not allow them to move about without a reason. He also emphasised on the importance of staying at home and moving only when necessary.
Dlamini said if everyone could follow the measures religiously, they would see a remarkable reduction in the number of new infections.

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