by Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Reports of COVID-19 exposed children being sent to school have surfaced according to Education Minister, Jonel Powell.
Speaking to the SKNVibes and St. Kitts Nevis Observer on Tuesday, Powell said.“We have too many cases where students have come from homes where parents know that they have been identified through contact tracing and know that they should be isolated and are still sending children to school. Parents know that the children themselves have been tested and have outstanding test results for COVID-19 and are still sending those children to school.”
The Education Minister said the Washington Archibald High School and the Charles E. Mills Secondary School have returned to online classes as a result of positive COVID-19 cases.
“In Charles E. Mills Secondary, a teacher tested positive over the weekend and out of precaution we had the entire staff room tested. In terms of the Washington Archibald High School, two students were identified as coming from a household where there were positive tests and because of their interaction in the school, we took the precautionary decision to revert that school to remote learning.”
Minister Powell said these schools will be doing classes online temporarily and the final decision will be made based on the pending results.
Students of Form 5A3 of the Gingerland Secondary School on Nevis will transition to the virtual classroom effective Friday, September 17, 2021.
A statement from the Ministry of Education said the decision was made “…acting on the advice of the Ministry of Health’s guidelines and protocols to decrease the spread of COVID-19.”
Prior to the announcements, students and teachers of some three schools were placed back into the virtual classroom due to exposure to COVID-19.
