Schoolgirls, health workers given the all-clear after test
Roy Lumbe and Henry Andanje
Sixty-eight Bahati Girls Secondary School inNakuru who had tested positive for Covid-19 breathed a sigh of relief after turning negative following a second test.
The learners who had been under restrictive isolation at the school received the news Monday morning after a second test was administered after 14 days.
Among those who also tested negative for the virus included five teachers and two subordinate staff stationed at the facility.
Upon receiving the news, the students held a prayer session at the school and jigged to the famous ‘Jerusalema Dance’ as they celebrated.
Confirming the results, Nakuru County Public Health Chief Officer Samuel King’ori said the students are in good health.
He said that the county health department has lifted the suspension of learning directive that was in force adding that normal lessons can resume.
Monitoring situation
Further, he said they will be monitoring the situation at the facility adding that they have officially handed over the students to the school administration.
“We are glad to announce that we do not have any positive case in the institution and learning can now resume,” said King’ori.
He stated that students who had contracted the virus within the county are doing well saying a number have been allowed back to school.
The officer said the county mapped schools within the region adding that health officers have been deployed to monitor the situation.
“We are working in synergy with the Ministry of Education in ensuring all affected schools are given the right attention as we try to contain further spread of the virus,” said King’ori.
The school’s principal, Sister Catherine Wangari said the situation was a shocker to many at the institution adding that they had to employ counselling programmes to assist those affected. She noted that it was overwhelming with learning suspended adding that those in quarantine used to sit for assessment tests to keep them occupied.
Wangari said she was glad that learning could now resume saying teachers have been given a green light to access the school to teach.
“Firstly, God has been faithful to us, and we have to thank the health department for assisting us all the way,” said Wangari.
According to her, they have heightened the Covid-19 prevention and management saying the school intends to remain free from the pandemic.
Further, she urged those coming from outside the school to fully comply with the preventive measures to ensure the virus does not spread among its students.
“We need to have a collective responsibility in the fight against the pandemic and we are glad that we have been declared free,” she added.
Ministry of Education protocols demand that students and teachers maintain social distance of at least a meter in classrooms and halls of residence.
All schools are required to have graphic posters of Covid-19 preventive measures in classrooms for learners and staff to see and be reminded of what they should do.
And in the new school environment, all learners and staff shall wear age-appropriate facemasks at all times.
Meanwhile, panic gripped teachers and students in Kaloleni sub county schools, Kilifi county, after a teacher succumbed to Covid-19 on Sunday.
The deputy principal of Kizurini Secondary School within Kaloleni town Miss Naomi Kinuih passed on at a Mombasa hospital yesterday after she was hospitalised for two weeks with tests revealing she was positive to corona virus.
Teachers in schools neighbouring Kizurini secondary, among them St Johns girls, St George boys’ high schools who spoke to KNA expressed fears that they have sometimes been meeting with the departed.
Those who have been very close to her before she was admitted to hospital said they have opted to go for voluntary testing to stop the spread of the disease to innocent students.
Not allowing visitors
Meanwhile schools in the area have put up measures not to allow visitors to the institutions including parents.
A watchman at St George’s High School who declined to reveal his name said he has instructions from the administration not to allow anybody including parents into the school compound.
The school’s principal Gilbert Karisa confirmed that no parents would be allowed to see their children and that they should pass any information for their form 4 students to the security guards at the gate.
And about 37 health workers from Busia County Referral Hospital who tested positive for Covid-19 pandemic are now in stable condition, County pandemic Coordinator Dr David Mukabi has revealed.
Mukabi said that out of the 37, three are still admitted, two at Alupe Hospital Isolation Treatment Centre in Teso South constituency and one at Bungoma Life Care Intensive Care Unit ( ICU).
“Some of those patients who tested positive recovered and were discharged from hospital while others were put under home based care isolation,” said Dr Mukabi.
Mukabi said the infected persons were from different cadres including Medics, Clinical Officers, Nurses and Laboratory section respectively.
Speaking to People Daily on phone, the Coordinator said that the health workers were placed under home base care isolation adding that Doctors daily are monitoring them.
He said that no new case has been reported among other health workers within the hospital noting that a total of 2,122 people tested positive to Covid-19 in the entire county since the pandemic began in March this year.
Mukabi said that life is back to normal at Kolanya Boys High School following the recovering of 52 students, 6 teachers and two subordinate staff who had tested positive to the disease.
