Lilongwe, Blantyre Schools reopen Tuesday next week

Primary and secondary schools in Blantyre and Lilongwe will open for classes on Tuesday next week, after a two week delay due to the Cholera outbreak.

All other schools across the country opened for the second term of the academic calendar on the 4th of January.

The Presidential Taskforce of Covid 19 and Cholera has announced the opening of schools in the two main cities today at noon in Lilongwe.

“I am pleased to advise that the Taskforce is satisfied to allow primary and secondary schools in the two districts to open as from Tuesday 17th January 2023,” announced Khumbize Chiponda Co-Chairperson of the Taskforce.

Addressing the press, Chiponda said authorities they delayed the opening to pave way for sanitation assessments and have since completed the assessment and will now e introduced various measures to control Cholera in schools.

Chiponda outlines some of the measures they have taken including;

“working jointly with City Councils and Water Boards, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation is working provide safe water in schools, including reconnecting piped water supply to schools that had their water supply disconnected”.

Chiponda has also has also disclosed that they have engaged other key stakeholders, and together they will work in various interventions to contain the spread in schools.

“The Ministry of Water and Sanitation, working with respective Water Boards and local councils, will also be facilitating interventions”.

Some of the interventions include, conducting water quality assessment and testing in targeted areas, distributing chlorine for water source and pot to pot chlorination, including in schools, as well as desludging of public toilets (especially in schools, markets and bus depots, and, disinfecting public sanitation facilities.

Also commenting on the matter minister of education Agnes Nyalonje issued a strong appeal to parents to follow all preventative measures at home for the safety of their children and not only rely on measures to be followed in the learning institutions.

As of Wednesday, the country recorded 589 new Cholera cases in 27 districts and 17 deaths.

Records show that 155 lives have been lost in the past 10 days, with Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Balaka and Machinga being the worst hit.

Meanwhile, the authorities have pledged to keep a watchful eye on the situation in the two affected cities.