By Sue-Ann Wayow
TEACHERS are being advised not to give private lessons at their homes to children as that activity will encourage co-mingling.
At a Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Wednesday, Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards, Principal Medical Officer for Institutions said any activity that encourages persons congregating should be avoided.
She was responding to a media question asked about the private tutoring by teachers given that all teaching institutions are closed until the end of December.
Abdool-Richards said, “The management of Covid-19 is centered around the reduction in co-mingling which is the mixing of persons and the congregation of persons. Therefore at the Ministry of Health and in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, which are accepted by the majority of the countries on the globe, we recommend that any sort of activity where persons congregate or co-mingle should be avoided.”
She said, “We don’t just refer to lessons or classes for students, but other activities such as parties or any other thing that can be avoided. We have to use digital methods. This is the way we have been progressing, and as regards to lessons students, we understand and appreciate the situation that parents may be in given the online schooling and the need for remedial teaching for our students, but we would like to advocate that teachers employ digital methods such as zoom classes and digital teaching in place of the usual or traditional method lessons systems which really promotes comingling and congregations of persons.”
Any measure that can prevent the spread of Covid-19 should be adopted, Abdool-Richards added.
