Senegal postpones school restart after teachers test positive

Senegal has pushed its reopening of schools until further notice.

This comes after several teachers tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the education ministry said on Monday.

The ministry, in a statement, said that teachers tested positive for the virus in Ziguinchor, in the Casamance area, south of the country.

It said Senegal’s President Macky Sall decided to “postpone the restart of classes until a later date, in order to avoid any risk of the virus spreading in schools.”

The ministry did not say how many teachers tested positive, neither did it state how many schools.

In preparation towards the reopening, the government had begun taking teachers in chartered buses from the capital, Dakar to schools in other regions.

But the transport initiative has been suspended until further notice.

Senegal, on May 20, announced that schools would gradually resume on June 2, after weeks of shutdown due to the pandemic.

As of June 2, Senegal has recorded 3,739 positive cases with 43 deaths.

Senegal was the latest country in the West and Central Africa region to plan restarting schools despite a continuing rise in coronavirus cases.

With countries convinced of having won the fight against the deadly pandemic, they are beginning to ease their restrictions.

Restaurants, hotels, churches, mosques, schools are set to operate but still adhering to the safety protocols.

In Ghana, President Akufo-Addo announced on Sunday that schools and universities would reopen on June 15 to allow the final year students and university students to prepare for exams.

Ivory Coast resumed in May 2020, and Burkina Faso resumed on June 1, 2020.