Independent Media reports that the death of a second KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schoolgirl from Covid-19 complications has renewed calls for the Department of Basic Education to review its school policy as the province battles the third wave of the coronavirus.

Wembley Primary School pupil Katelyn Pillay is believed to have died over the weekend. The Grade 7 girl's death came just days after 9-year-old Shanika Balsaring succumbed to Covid. She was a Grade 4 pupil at the Acaciavale Primary School in Ladysmith. Thirona Moodley, KZN chief executive of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA (Naptosa), said they were disturbed and saddened by the girls’ deaths. “Experts have indicated that the Delta variant is more transmissable and we’re seeing this in infections at schools. Infections in schools result in learners in isolation or in quarantine, this results in learning losses and breaks the continuity of schooling. The stop-start schooling is disruptive and time lost can’t be made up. Schools must keep the social distancing of 1 metre at all costs," she said. African Democratic Change's (ADeC) Visvin Reddy urged parents to keep their children at home if they were ill. On Sunday, KZN premier Sihle Zikalala confirmed that the province was in the third wave of infections. He said there has been a noted increase in cluster cases, with schools emerging as the biggest contributor in that regard. “More than 120 schools have reported clusters in their school settings, and more than 800 learners and teachers have been affected. Learners make up at least 95% of this number, while educators account for the remaining 5%,” the premier reported.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Se-Anne Rall at Independent Media

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