DA calls on KZN government to ramp up education sector Covid-19 vaccinations as new numbers show a rapid rise in school infections
23 June 2021
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has called on the provincial government to urgently ramp up the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out for those within the education sector as new numbers show a dramatic increase in school infection rates.
The move comes after a media briefing held yesterday, during which KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala highlighted a school in rural Nquthu where infection numbers jumped from a known 15 people to 56 after everyone had been tested.
The province’s Education portfolio committee was also informed last week of schools in the Uthukela district where more than 40 Covid-19 cases were identified in two separate schools.
Further figures that the DA is aware of, as supplied to us by the Department of Education (DoE) and which are a total sum of cases within KZN’s education sector from 23 March to 22 June 2021, indicate that;
- There were 458 Covid-19 cases within KZN’s schools during this period, of which 112 were teachers, 323 were learners and 23 were identified as other school staff
- During this same period, a total of 277 people died due to the virus, with teachers making up 235 of the overall number while one learner passed away and 41 others lost their lives and;
- Within KZN’s primary schools, 117 educators tested positive for the virus between the beginning of February and 22 June this year while there were 87 learners and 26 others who contracted the virus.
Schools are a microcosm of the larger society and if Covid-19 numbers are high in our schools, it means that they are just as high outside of the school environment.
According to a Department of Health (DoH) circular, vaccinations for teachers and other school staff were to have started two weeks ago. Unfortunately, this did not materialise due to the usual and regular challenges around vaccine procurement which have plagued government since the get-go.
While the DA notes and welcomes the start of the vaccination programme in KZN for educators and other school staff as of today, we cannot stress the urgency in ensuring that this happens as quickly as possible and not at the same criminally slow pace being experienced nationally.
KZN's education sector staff component may be as large as 140 000 people - which is only second in size to the South African National Defence Force – and to ensure that everyone is vaccination is a big task. While the DA has already called for the vaccination process to be seamless, we are aware that there will be unavoidable minor disruptions to ensure that the process is completed on time.
The DA encourages all members of this sector to avail themselves for the vaccines, particularly in light of the Premier’s recent indication that numbers in schools are rising sharply.
In the interim, learners, staff and communities can no longer afford to be complacent. All non-pharmaceutical measures must be strictly adhered to, both within school and outside. Proper wearing of masks, washing of hands or sanitising, cough etiquette and physical distancing are obligatory. Staff and children who are displaying any symptoms should not attend school and only return once they have a clean bill of health. The same must apply to parents themselves within their own working environments.
We all have a role to play in ensuring that our schools return to some form of normality sooner rather than later.
Statement issued by Dr Imran Keeka, MPL - DA KZN Spokesperson on Education, 23 June 2021
