Nairobi Regional Commissioner Mr. James Kianda has said that at least 95 per cent of learners in the Region have reported back to school.
Kianda said that this was a positive step in the right direction, amid COVID 19 situation that kept pupils out of schools for nine month since the first case was detected in the Country, with the pupils reporting back on the 4th January 2021.
Speaking today during his tour to assess the level of COVID 19 management and preparedness of Nairobi schools, Kianda said that so far no case has been reported but said that should one arise, then there is adequate readiness to manage the situation.
The RC noted that County schools Heads have been advised to form Emergency COVID 19 response committees that will be expected to mainstream Ministry of Health protocols as well as ensure sustainability of the measures put in place to avoid a relapse of the gains made in fighting COVID.
“We have linked our schools to health facilities in a bid to ensure that should a pupil exhibit COVID 19 symptom, then they will be immediately isolated then rushed to the facilities as their next of kin is contacted,” said Kianda.
He further observed that teachers have been adequately trained to identify cases that need medical attention and called on them to continually remind the students to adhere to the set protocols.
“We are not out of the woods yet. We must strictly adhere to the World Health Organization guidelines, and urge the learners to be the ambassadors of change even at home being that they are day scholars,” he noted.
Key areas that schools have observed include placing water points around the schools to encourage handwashing as well as ensuring that pupils have their masks on.
The RC who was accompanied by Regional Director of Education Mr. Jared Obiero visited Our Lady of Mercy Primary School as well as Kimathi Estate Primary School and is expected to visit Lenana and St. Georges Secondary Schools tomorrow.
Schools reopened on Monday after being closed since March due to the coronavirus which is yet to be fully contained in the Country.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha over the weekend exuded confidence that schools countrywide have complied with the laid down protocols aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus in schools even as they reopen
The CS said that the government has done everything possible and within their mandate to ensure that schools are ready to open come tomorrow
The CS who admitted that while adherence to the social distancing directive might be challenging, asked parents to buy at least two reusable face masks for their children to counter the spread of the virus.
As at today, 219 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Kenya from a sample size of 5,413 tested in the last 24 hours, bringing to 97,127 the number of confirmed positive cases in the country.
By Alice Gworo
