Burundi schools open amid a surge in Coronavirus cases

Schools in Burundi are set to reopen on Monday, September 13, after a three-month-long holiday, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases countrywide.

The Ministry of Health has imposed mandatory Covid-19 screening for students reporting back to school.

“The tests are mandatory for students in secondary school and boarding schools, the rest may go for the test voluntarily,” Jean Bosco Girukwishaka, spokesman for the Minister of Health told The EastAfrican.

Mass testing for students, teachers, and staff members of boarding or secondary schools kicked off on Friday and will run to Tuesday, September 14.

“In the first week of September 2021 Covid-19 cases increased especially in Bujumbura and other towns in the countryside and this is as a result of not complying with already preventive measures against the pandemic,” reads a statement from the Ministry for Health.

According to the government’s Covid-19 report dated September 6, 2021, the daily average rate of new Covid-19 cases stood at 154, since July 21, 2021, the date when the highest number of new cases was recorded.