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Education dept offices closed in Kimberley

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The Department of Education provincial office in Kimberley has been closed due to Covid-19. Picture: Soraya Crowie

THE NORTHERN Cape Department of Education’s Frances Baard District Office in Hadison Park and its head office in Barkly Road in Kimberley were closed on Tuesday following cases of Covid-19.

Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said on Tuesday that department offices, as well as schools in the Province, had been affected by the spread of Covid-19.

Several schools in the Northern Cape have been closed due to the coronavirus.

Van der Merwe said the closures were to protect employees and pupils from being exposed to the virus and to stop the spread of infections.

“The health and safety of our employees, educators and pupils is of paramount importance as we proceed to navigate through this difficult period. We follow the protocol that when a positive case is reported, we close the affected school or office to allow for disinfection and contact tracing to be done,” said Van der Merwe. 

“We closed the Frances Baard District Office as well as the Northern Cape Department of Education Head Office, because we value the lives of our employees.”

Van der Merwe added that the department’s Namaqua District Office is also still closed as the department is awaiting the results of contact traces.

According to Van der Merwe, employees will work from home until the offices reopen.

“All officials have been requested to work from home while contact tracing is being done. All offices are likely to reopen on Monday, July 13, 2020. 

“We must emphasise that the same protocol is applicable to our schools and therefore we have seen a rise in the number of schools that have been closed. We are monitoring the situation in our schools and offices to curb the spread of Covid-19,” said Van der Merwe.

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