Daycares in Gauteng to be closed from Wednesday

Gauteng department of social development has given the green light to the closure of daycare centres.

The department spokesperson Jabulani Hlongwane announced on Monday afternoon that early childhood centres would close its doors from Wednesday, reports Pretoria East Rekord.

He said the department sent messages to special care units and early childhood learning centers to close amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Hlongwane said the closure was aimed at protecting and guaranteeing the safety of children from contracting coronavirus.

“All of us must adhere to the call of prohibiting the gathering of more than 100 people and our response to the call is to close all early childhood development centres,” Hlongwane said.

He said the centres would remain closed until further notice.

On Monday, basic education minister Angie Motshekga also announced schools would be closed from Wednesday until 14 April.

This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call on Monday for the closure of schools due to a rapid increase in confirmed coronavirus cases.

Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster as confirmed cases rose from 38 on Saturday morning to 61 Sunday afternoon.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.