A school hostel in Bloemfontein shuts down after a pupil tests positive for Covid-19

One of the hostels at Grey College Secondary in Bloemfontein in the Free State has been shut down after a Grade 12 pupil tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.

In a statement, the school said the pupil was from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal and lived at the hostel.

The pupil woke up with a headache and cough on Tuesday morning, the school said.

After being screened on various occasions, he was kept in isolation until a family member picked him up. The pupil then underwent a test.

The boy’s temperature had been checked on various occasions since the school’s hostels opened for the new term on Sunday evening and he was monitored daily, but never had a fever, school marketing manager Marzaan Venter said in the statement.

Boys & staff placed under quarantine

“The principal, Mr Deon Scheepers, immediately informed the Department of Education of the situation [and it] then gave instruction that the hostel must be closed and the boys and staff must be placed under quarantine. The Department of Education will make further recommendations to the school,” Venter said.

Speaking to News24 on Wednesday afternoon, Venter said provincial education and health department officials were at the school, interacting with the boys.

Venter said the school was waiting for a way forward from the department following the visit and would give an update afterwards.

Various schools across the country had to shut their doors since reopening on Monday after teachers and pupils tested positive.