Coronavirus update: KZN school attended by patient zero’s kids closed

The school attended by the children of South Africa’s first confirmed coronavirus patient has been shut down amidst fear of contamination. 

Cowan House Preparatory School in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Midlands have released a statement saying that while they are not currently aware of any further infections, they are doing what they can to ensure that no further spread occurs. 

School not taking any coronavirus risks

“At this stage, there is limited information available to the school to inform the decision of whether to close the school or not. We have been in constant communication with the experts of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD),” said headmaster Derek Braans.

“Their advice has been that it is unnecessary to close the school. However, due to the lack of clarity and uncertainty at this point, we have taken the conservative decision to close school. 

“We do not wish to create alarm or unnecessary concern, but feel a conservative action is appropriate under these circumstances,” he said. 

The children of the 38-year-old man who Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize confirmed as South Africa’s “patient zero” on Thursday have been at school for at least four days since their father began self quarantine. 

No shut-down requests yet

Mkhize is expected to visit the school later on Friday afternoon to meet with the school’s executive. After this meeting, he is expected to brief the media and public on what has transpired 24-hours since the news broke.

Elijah Mhlanga, Media Liaison for the Department of Basic Education, said that at this stage, schools were not being urged to shut down. 

“We will be informed accordingly by the relevant departments regarding the steps to be take,” he said. 

This is a developing story