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St. Cuthbert’s shelves schools’ reopening plans amid outbreak …2-week lockdown ordered
St. Cuthbert’s Mission has gone on a two-week lockdown after a COVID-19 outbreak.
Kaieteur News – Due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Mahaica River, students who were set to return to school on Monday will be unable to do so.
This is because a full lockdown that will last for two weeks has been ordered on that indigenous community, enforcing stringent social distancing protocols to curb the spread of the virus.
Schools were awaiting the green light for reopening from the Health Ministry, which was given in the Official Gazette of COVID-19 measures for the month of November.
However, it was noted that this reopening will be conditional, meaning that strict COVID-19 measures must be exercised to ensure the safety of the returning students.
After receiving the go-ahead, the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, had announced that schools will be opening on November 9, which will see 21,000 students returning to school.
The re-opening targetted Grades 10, 11 and 12 students as well as technical vocational students, mainly because of the 2021 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) assessments which require face-to-face classes for specific components.
Before the news of the lockdown broke, many parents had already contended that they will not be sending their children to school since they feared them putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus and even bringing it home to other family members, especially the sick and the elderly.
A 41-year-old mother of three who gave her name as Sunita had expressed her alarm to this publication. “When I heard that teacher get the virus I knew it was a no-no. I could never send my child to school like that. It probably already spread to other teachers and if they get direct contact with my child that is more than putting her at risk,” the woman said.
She said that even though she’d be skeptical about sending her child, who is a fifth form CSEC student to school even after the lockdown, she understands the need for face-to-face classes to complete her School-Based Assessments.
Other residents have since shared that despite the lockdown they were encouraged by regional education authorities to ensure their children work assiduously while they are at home because the two-week setback can and will affect some of them.
Initial reports given to this publication by health officials stated that 58 persons tested positive for the virus within one week and of that number three were teachers, one was a village councillor and several health workers tested positive as well. This was before the lockdown orders were issued.
The health officials disclosed that the number is expected to rise since the tests are being conducted in batches and the community has over 1,500 residents.
The first batch of tests conducted had shown 25 persons testing positive and the second batch revealed another 33 cases.
Kaieteur News understands that the first person who recently tested positive for the virus is being housed at the Liliendaal Infectious Disease Hospital better known as the Ocean View COVID-19 Hospital.
Other persons that have tested positive for the virus have been confined to home isolation and it was stated that if any of the isolation patients breach the “stay home” order, they will be sent to a facility at Madewini for institutional isolation.
Checkups will also be made by Ministry of Health officials to ensure these persons are isolating.
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