GABORONE/FREETOWN, June 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — BOTSWANA brought back a strict Coronavirus lockdown in its capital city, Gaborone, and surrounding areas after the southern African country recorded 12 new cases of the virus, a senior health official said.
Diamond-rich Botswana ended a 48-day national coronavirus lockdown late last month, allowing businesses and schools to reopen under controls, but its borders are still closed apart from for returning citizens and imports of essential goods.
But Malaki Tshipayagae, the country’s director of health services, said in a televised announcement that officials had recorded four new imported cases at its borders and eight at a private hospital in Gaborone, bringing cumulative cases to 60.
“We are still to determine whether the hospital cases are local transmissions,” Tshipayagae said. “From midnight today, the greater Gaborone area will revert to extreme social distancing until further notice, where only essential services will be allowed to operate.”
Before the new cases were announced, Botswana only had one active case of the coronavirus. It has recorded only one coronavirus death.
But the economy has been severely hurt, with real gross domestic product seen contracting 13% this year while the budget deficit could more than double.
Meanwhile, SIERRA LEONE will temporarily reopen schools next month to allow registered students to sit for the public examinations.
An Emergency Education Taskforce has been set up to handle the logistical requirements ahead of the planned reopening, to prevent the spread of the virus in schools.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MoBSSE) in capital FREETOWN set the reopening date for July 1. Schools will remain open for six weeks so that students can prepare for and do the exams.
Three public examinations will be conducted within the period: the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSEC), the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and National Primary School Examinations (NPSE).
All three exams are conducted at a regional level by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
They are transition stages for pupils to progress to the next level of their academic journey. While WASSCE students transition to college and university, BECE students transition to Senior Secondary level, and the NPSE students to the BECE level.
Sierra Leone shut down schools on March 31, after the country recorded its first case of COVID-19.
As of Thursday, the country had recorded 1,085 confirmed Covid-19 cases. — NNN-AGENCIES
