Staff Reporter
At least 41 teachers have succumbed to COVID-19 in the Free State, the provincial education department has said.
Head of department Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane told a special gathering organised by the provincial education department on Monday to honour those who lost their lives to the disease that in addition to the teachers, the province also lost four learners and two non-teaching staff to the acute respiratory disease.
“The statistical reality of the true effects of COVID-19 . . . is that the education department was the worst affected by the disease,” said Malakoane during the event which was held at the Fidel Castro Building in Bloemfontein.
The event also honoured victims of gender-based violence which became more rampant during the hard lockdown as well as bullying in schools.
Lejweleputswa district in the northern Free State was the worst affected in the province, losing at least 16 teachers, three learners and one non-teaching staff member by the end of September.
The high death rate has been attributed to the congested living conditions in the mining communities there.
Motheo district, which includes Mangaung Metro, lost nine teachers and one learner while in Thabo Mofutsanyana seven teachers and one non-teaching staff member died.
Fezile Dabi lost three teachers and Xhariep one teacher.
“We really felt the hard knock of this pandemic,” said the provincial head for education.
“Remember, the teachers were on the coal face of this pandemic because they had to interact with learners on a daily basis.
“They remained committed to their work despite the risk posed by the disease.
“So, we really felt it important to honour those who succumbed to it.”
A total of 872 learners are said to have tested positive for COVID-19 by the end of September in the province while 1 597 teachers also contracted the disease.
About 315 non-teaching staff were also infected, bringing the cumulative total for the province in the basic education sector to 2 795.
There were 2 460 recoveries and 335 active cases remained at that time.
Malakoane told The Free Stater that the department is worried about the second wave of the pandemic that has hit country and they have started activating measures to ensure the lives of learners and teachers won’t be at risk when schools open next year.
“We already kick-started our below-the-line and through-the-line activations on advocacy to make sure that we start communicating those messages while the learners are still at home,” he said.
“And when schools open, we should have procured all the COVID-19 essentials to make sure that we have strict adherence to protocols such as ensuring that learners do not get into the school environment without being checked.
“We are also working on timetable models to ensure there is social distancing in schools at all times.”