Preschools worried about spiking infections numbers

Preschool owners at Walvis Bay say they fear the reopening of their schools could be dangerous for children, giving the spiking number of novel coronavirus infections at the harbour town.

It has been announced that face-to-face teaching will not resume at Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Arandis, due to the spike in coronavirus infections detected at the central coast.

The chairperson of the Walvis Bay Preschool Association, Samson Hamukoto, said preschool owners were hoping to welcome their pupils, but are now worried about the number of infections rising rapidly.

“It will be hard for teachers that have already been suffering a lot, because they did not have any income. Some are behind with personal bills and those of their centres. However, we agree that it is really a great risk for children in our town to be exposed to the virus,” he said.

The association will continue to advise preschool owners on keeping their premises clean and conduct inspections, while teachers will stay in touch with parents.

Meanwhile some exited preschool owners like Victoria Joel of the Circle of Hope Private Academy at Ondangwa started preparing weeks ago and have been eagerly waiting for the announcement for schools to start.

“I run a school for special learners so we are taking extra precautions. A cleaning service recently disinfected the whole building. We removed all the floor mats and replaced them with foam mats which are easy to wash and disinfect. We have a timetable with key areas for the staff to constantly clean and disinfect items,” she said.

Parents’, visitors’ and pupils’ temperatures will be screened and a register book will be available to be signed by all parents at the school. The school has also had orientation sessions with pupils.

The Namibian recently talked to Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare spokesperson Lukas Haufiku. “We advise all centres to sanitise the hands of the children, keep washing water handy at all times and maintain social distancing, while wearing masks. It is important that pupils, teachers and staff members who are not feeling well or displaying Covid-19 symptoms are denied entrance and advised to visit a clinic or hospital,” said Haufiku.