DURBAN –School pupils in Durban clashed with police after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19. The incident occurred on Wednesday at Nqabakazulu High School in KwaMashu.
Kwazi Mshengu , Education MEC said: "There has been an interruption of teaching and learning because of a misunderstanding between the teachers and the learners on how to manage the positive cases of Covid-19. A case of a teacher [was] reported where she tested positive and learners [were] demanding that all educators must be tested."
However, Mshengu stated that is not the department’s protocol, only those that have been identified as being in close contact with the teacher, would require testing. Ordinarily, those contacts would be sent home for isolation quarantine for 14 days to see if they have symptoms. But we have an agreement with the department of health that says you can't send a teacher home for 14 days to check if there will be symptoms developing," he added.
The altercation began when pupils refused to listen to teachers and demanded that everyone gets tested. Mshengu stated that the situation was clarified during his visit to the school on Wednesday. "The local police and Public Order Police proceeded to the area where pupils were instructed to disperse. They defied an instruction and rubber bullets were used to disperse the pupils. No injuries were reported and the police continued to monitor the area."
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