More than 381 teachers test positive for COVID-19

Jan 19, 2022 News

– GTU renews call for closure of schools for two weeks

Kaieteur News – As the deadly Corona Virus and its variants continue to plough through the country, with almost 1000 cases each day, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has renewed its call for the Ministry of Education (MoE) to close school doors across the country for two weeks.

More than 381 teachers test positive for COVID

President of the GTU, Mark Lyte over the weekend dispatched a fresh letter to the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Dr. Marcel Hutson, reinforcing the union’s call for the closure of public school doors. In the document seen by Kaieteur News, the Union said, “This closure period is deemed necessary for the MoE to institute systems that will facilitate the safe reopening of schools amidst the growing increase of COVID-19 cases in Guyana”.
Moreover, the Union reasoned that data gathered by the organisation for the last two weeks of school have shown that more than 381 teachers and 219 students tested positive, forcing a number of schools to close their doors a mere 10 days into the new school term.
On Tuesday afternoon, figures received by the Union showed that the country’s capital city of Georgetown had the highest number of reported cases for teachers and second highest number of students with 64 and 36 confirmed cases, respectively. In Region One, 11 teachers and 15 students have tested positive for the virus, in Region Two another 11 teachers and 15 students were also positive.
Meanwhile, positive cases in the other regions included; Region Three 46 teachers and 22 students, Region Four 51 teachers and 21 students, Region Five 29 teachers and 12 students, Region Six 51 teachers and 22 students and Region Seven 42 teachers and 21 students. The Union said it did not receive figures from Region Eight, but the cases in Region Nine include 31 teachers and 37 students, while Region 10 has 46 teachers and 19 students COVID-positive.
The Union said it understands that about 152 schools have reported positive instances for teachers, learners, or support staff. As a consequence, “We propose that teachers engage learners virtually during these fourteen days while the MoE reassesses its face-to-face plan for learners during this pandemic,” GTU told the CEO.
The Union complained that many schools still have learners seated two in a bench, while it is the Union’s position that keeping teachers and students out of “crowded” schools will help to reduce the present spike in positive COVID-19 cases in Guyana.
In its plea to the Chief Education Officer, the Teachers’ Union reminded the official that the Ministry of Health has declared more than 1,000 cases almost every day during the past week.
In this regard, Lyte said “The school environment has become unsafe for educators, learners, and school staff. Learning cannot occur in an environment where there is trauma and fear. We urge that the MoE act responsibly, maturely, and care for Guyanese. It takes one infected person to spread the virus among the remainder of their family and the wider community”.
The Guyana Teachers’ Union first issued a letter to the Chief Education Officer, on the closure of schools, on January 7, 2022. However, to date the documents have been ignored. “Nobody responds to you when you write them, but they are upset when you bring certain things to the fore,” Lyte complained to Kaieteur News in a quick telephone interview.
Only last week this newspaper reported that several schools in Linden, Region 10, have been forced to close their doors, after both teachers and children at the institutions, tested positive. The Mackenzie High School, the Watooka Day Primary School, the Amelia’s Ward Primary School, the Wismar Hill Nursery School, the One Mile Primary School and the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School had all reported positive cases.
Despite this, one teacher from the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School said the students had to be placed on rotation to tackle overcrowding and she is of the belief that the overcrowding during the first week of the term, resulted in several students and teachers contracting the virus. Efforts to reach the Education Minister, Priya Manickchand for a comment on the matter proved futile.

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