• The doors of Mitchell House School in Polokwane remain closed after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19
• The school's principal said the child returned last week and went to the doctor on Friday after developing flu-like symptoms.
• Most Limpopo schools have resumed, except for far-flung areas where there have been water and sanitation problems.

While schooling in Limpopo resumed in the majority of areas on Monday amid joy and trepidation from Grade 7s and 12s, classes were suspended at a private institution in Polokwane after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19.

The principal at Mitchell House School, Andrew Cook, said in a letter to parents that the Grade 12 pupil had returned to school last week.

The pupil had been in contact with others between Monday and Wednesday, before developing flu-like symptoms.

The results for Covid-19 came back positive on Saturday after the pupil consulted a doctor on Friday. 

Cook said classes would remain suspended until a directive from education and health authorities is received. He advised all those who had come into contact with the pupil to self-isolate.

Water issues 

In other parts of the province, schools in far-flung areas were still experiencing water shortage problems and lack of proper sanitation on Monday.

SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Sowell Tjebane said their monitoring showed that schools in townships were "ordinarily fine" on the reopening day, except in rural areas.

"The (water) tankers promised were not yet there in rural areas. Some personal protective equipment (PPE) had not arrived, but there was a promise they were on their way.

"The not scary part is that there is still huge challenge, with old an dilapidated schools," Tjebane said.

The water and sanitation challenge was echoed by Premier Stan Mathabatha during his visit to Patoga Primary School in Lebowakgomo on Monday.

Mathabatha agreed that schools at semi-urban areas were better resourced than those in rural areas.

Rising numbers 

Pupils themselves expressed mixed reactions about returning to school amidst the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the province.

By Monday morning, the number stood at 226.

However, Lerato Moralane, who is the student representative council (SRC) president at Derek Kobe Secondary School in Lebowakgomo, put it this way:"As the SRC, it's also our responsibility to make sure that learners have a positive mind when they come to school."