Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has dismissed as a non-issue closure of a primary school in Nyandarua County over a Covid-19 threat.
Uhuru Primary School was temporarily closed this week after 16 learners and four teachers were confirmed to have contracted the virus.
Speaking a day after health officials confirmed the closure, the CS stated that infection of ‘about ten’ learners should not affect the learning of 14 million children across the country.
“This is not an issue at all. You remember the noise that you people were making before. If the president was not bold enough to open schools, would these children be lining up here to get scholarships to go to high schools,” he told journalists in Thika.
The CS was in Kiambu County to witness the ongoing interviews for the World Bank funded Elimu Program that is giving 9,000 scholarships to vulnerable children across the country.
Read: CS Magoha Bans Unauthorized Meetings In Schools To Curb Covid-19 Spread
He insisted that the government has made great strides in ensuring learners are safe in school amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nyandarua County Health Executive John Mungai yesterday said the primary school is the first learning institution to record Covid-19 cases in the region.
The decision to suspend learning in the school was reached after consultations between the county’s health department, ministry of education and counterparts from the interior ministry.
Mass testing was conducted after 70 pupils from the school visited Nyairoko Dispensary complaining of diarrhoea and sore throats.
Read Also: CS Magoha Bars Media From Reporting On Covid-19 Preparedness In Schools
Dr Mungai said the first 50 learners were treated on Friday, but 20 more pupils visited the dispensary with similar conditions, prompting the health workers to conduct the Covid-19 tests.
Pupils from Class Five to Eight, Dr Mungai said, are scheduled to resume classes on June 21.
Those in the lower Primary will take a 10-day break as the health ministry continues to assess the situation.
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