204 test positive for Covid-19 at Eastern Cape boarding school

The Eastern Cape health department is considering converting Makaula Senior Secondary School into an isolation facility after 204 people there tested positive for Covid-19.

The KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere) school made headlines on Monday when education department superintendent general Themba Kojana told DispatchLIVE that 24 of a group of 30 pupils had tested positive for Covid-19.

A further 253 pupils and 47 support staff members were tested on Friday. The results revealed that 204 people, including pupils and staff, had tested positive.

“A team of clinicians have been sent to the school to ascertain if the hostel meets the department's minimum standards for quarantine and isolation facilities, which include but are not limited to lighting, well ventilated rooms and sanitation services,” said health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

He said turning the school into a quarantine facility would be “another measure of preventing the further spread of the coronavirus”.

“This is so that those who came into contact with the 204 people who have tested positive can be traced, screened and tested, so that we stop the spread of the virus.”

Kupelo encouraged the public to adhere to lockdown regulations.

“Working together we can slow down the spread of this virus, but everyone has to play their part. This is not a department of health or government issue but a societal issue as it affects all.”