Covid-19 cases at Matabeleland North school rise to 122

The number of students and teachers at John Tallach Secondary School who are infected with Covid-19 has risen to 122, officials said.

Testing is still ongoing and the figure could rise, primary and secondary education ministry spokesman Taungana Ndoro said. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland-run school has an enrolment of over 623 pupils.

"As of this morning we have 118 students and four teachers who have been infected with the virus," Ndoro told ZimLive, adding that a majority of them were asymptomatic.

The ministry of health has set-up a temporary clinic at the school, and stopped people from coming in or going out.

"Students, school employees and teachers are isolated at the school, so parents and families are protected," Ndoro said.

An emergency was declared at the school last week after six pupils were found to have above normal temperatures during routine screening. Five later tested positive for the virus which has infected 8,981 Zimbabweans and killed 261 others since March.

The government has faced criticism over its decision to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic, but Ndoro maintains that they have so far been successful in mitigating the disease spread.

"The situation across the country is manageable and the infection rate at the one school in Matabeleland North represents 0.002 percent of learners affected countrywide, showing that the ministry's standard operating procedures have currently got a success rate of 99.998 percent," he said.