Learning Institutions Should Remain Closed For Now - ZIMA

Zimbabwe Medical Association (ZIMA) president Dr Francis Chiwora said that it is worrisome that the government is seriously considering re-opening learning institutions at a time when there has been a spike in coronavirus cases.

He said the government should learn from other countries that have re-opened schools and experienced rapid increases in the number of COVID-19 cases. Said Dr Chiwora:

We should not relax. I think it’s worrisome that schools are planning on re-opening. We need to really decongest the schools especially considering that children may not be the best group to observe Covid-19 prevention measures.

However, the opening of schools is a bit worrying considering what has happened in France where after they opened schools they started recording new cases.

The best option for schools at the moment is virtual learning and the same applies to universities.

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Dr Chiwora added that online learning has its own drawbacks, for instance, some disciplines such as medicine require practical lessons. He said:

We have medical students that have to do practical lessons, through dealing with patients. We need to emphasise the need for the public to observe social distancing while wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks and use of hand sanitizers.

The government recently announced that universities will re-open on Monday while it is working on modalities for the staggered reopening of schools.

More: Chronicle