By Loni Prinsloo
(Bloomberg) – South Africa plans to begin reopening its schools next week, allowing students to return in a phased approach in a continuing effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Classes will reopen from May 6, with students from grades seven and 12 being the first to return, Hubert Mweli, director-general of South Africa’s education department, told lawmakers on Wednesday. Schools have been closed since late March, when the government introduced a nationwide lockdown to slow the pace of Covid-19 infections.
The reopening will include strict conditions, including a limit of no more than two students per desk, and that children wear face masks during the school day, Mweli said. All classes are expected to have returned by July 15, Mweli said.
