Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Wilson Sossion has dismissed calls for the closure of schools after 52 candidates contracted Covid-19.
On Tuesday, 52 KCSE candidates from Kolanya Boys’ High School in Teso North Sub-County, Busia County tested positive for Covid-19.
Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong confirmed the reports adding that six teachers from the school have also tested positive for the disease.
They have all been placed under mandatory quarantine at the school and health officers from the Busia County Hospital assigned to attend to them.
The news elicited massive reactions online with Kenyans calling for closure of schools to prevent further spread of the virus among students.
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Sossion’s Take
Responding to the calls during an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday, Sossion urged parents to remain calm noting that allowing students to go back home could expose their families to risk, that is if they have been exposed to the virus.
“Parents should not be worried. Learners who are in school cannot go home even medically it would be a mistake… If you say that students at Kolanya should go back home, you will be enhancing the spread of the disease at the community level,” he said.
He further noted that the current occurrences in schools have provided key lessons that will guide the government in set measures to facilitate full reopening of schools.
