Makaula Senior School cases continue to rise, parents ‘left in the dark’

Makaula Senior Secondary School in Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, has been rocked by a wave of COVID-19 cases among pupils that has seen 204 students, as well as hotel assistants from a nearby hotel allocated for quarantine confirmed positive. 

The Eastern Cape Health Department have deployed doctors and tracers to the school to continue screening protocols, and busses arrived on Tuesday night to take the infected children to the identified quarantine site near the school.

A video emerged on social media suggesting that the students were stranded in the busses with no room left in the Makaula hotel which is fast filling up with infected students. 

These are 2 busses with boarding school kids outside Mount Frere, Makaula Hotel who tested Positive to CoronaVirus, The kids have been in this bus since 6pm. The Hotel is full. The state don’t know what to do with them. pic.twitter.com/01gQNNs0nT

— Man’s NOT Barry Roux  (@AdvoBarryRoux) June 23, 2020

Makaula principle ‘not answering phone’ 

Alfred Nzo district municipality Mayor Sixolile Mehlomakhulu said that the situation is deeply disturbing, and said that a major testing backlog in the district was leading to a delayed ability to respond. 

“What is important is that we are going to quarantine all the kids that tested negative in the quarantine site the number is huge,” he told IonoFM. 

“The outstanding number of cases awaiting results is 61. It’s a huge number for one school and it’s very problematic for the district because we know we have a backlog in the area,” he said. 

A parent speaking to the radio station said that there was little in the way of communication from the school, and said that a meeting would be convened between concerned parents on Wednesday.

“We as parents don’t feel good about this, no one told us what is happening at the school except our kids,” the parent told IonoFM. 

“Even this meeting today, no one called us. The principal is not answering his phone.”

Calls rise for EC schools to close  

Te school has been closed and is currently undergoing sanitation.

Health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said that contact tracing and intervention efforts are well underway but conceded that he is concerned about the developing situation. 

“The intention is to rescue those who have not tested positive and do contact tracing. We appeal to all members of the public to take the virus seriously.” 

Calls are rising for Eastern Cape schools to be closed, with Provincial Secretary for South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) Chris Mndingi suggesting that what is unfolding is becoming increasingly sinister. 

“All schools must be closed in the province: We are dealing with a moving target, each and every day there is an increase of infections, some have decided to go quiet about it, and even threaten learners not to speak about it if there is anyone identified to be positive in a school.”