Staff Reporter – The Zimbabwe Daily
Manzini, eSwatini
Thousands of students in colleges, universities and form fives yesterday went back to school.
Following the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country three months ago, schools had to be closed to avoid a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
However, the country’s Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini said the reopening of schools and some sectors of businesses was not a reason to be complacent.
“The Ministry of Health’s Epidemiologist Nhlanhla Nhlabatsi has indicated that by the end of this month, our confirmed COVID-19 cases could reach 3 321 if people don’t adhere to the precautions of wearing masks, washing of hands with soap and water or sanitise frequently and keeping the social distance.
These projections are not meant to scare people, but a warning that if we don’t change our behavior the numbers that we see could triple and therefore flood our health system, resulting in more demand for ventilators, beds and frontline workers, which may prove to be impossible,” said Dlamini.
To date, eSwatini has recorded over 900 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths. eSwatini is amongst a handful of countries in Africa that have reopened their schools.
