By Neo Kolane
NACOSEC has reiterated that learners who commute to school to South Africa on a daily basis to South Africa are provisionally barred from attempting to cross the border as per the new post-lockdown Covid-19 regulations.
Following a meeting with parents on Monday, the National COVID-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) risk communication manager, Baroane Phenethi said they have realized that when people go to South Africa regularly, it increases chances of importing the highly virulent new Covid-19 strain into Lesotho.
Phenethi explained that the regulations came into force after Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s national address on February 3.
Subsequently, a government gazette issued on February 4 2021 stated that a person who resides in the neighbouring country and works in Lesotho is prohibited from shuttling between the two countries.
“No movements across borders except for essential goods and services, diplomats, funerals for parents, children and grandparents, migrant workers, boarding students, and medical reasons with the relevant permits.
“The issue of commuters will change when the country changes to a lower level of restrictions. The regulations indicate that we will only allow students who stay at boarding school; we are avoiding unnecessary movement. We want to minimize the rate of infection,” Phenethi told theReporter.
One parent, Liepollo Tsekoa on Monday said as parents of children who commute daily, they were only notified on Thursday February 4 that students will no longer be allowed to cross; they will cross only if they are going to a boarding type of setup.
“As parents, we discussed the issue. Then on Sunday we decided to write a letter to NACOSEC to request a meeting.”
NACOSEC says it is disturbed that the numbers of both pupils and workers travelling between Lesotho and SA daily is increasing, and that this is way too risky.
It says it does not want to take chances with children’s lives because, if something goes wrong, it might take the country back to the red level restrictions which will entail imposing a nationwide hard lockdown, and NACOSEC is determined to avoid this at all costs. NACOSEC is also concerned about a potential third wave of COVID-19 which has been branded ‘a disaster in the making’.
However, parents pleaded with NACOSEC, insisting that the students use taxis which are meant for them only and this means contact tracing would not be a problem if a student is found positive. They emphasized that the taxis pick up the learners from either a designated spot or their homes. The same happens after school, as the children wait at their respective schools for the vehicles to ferry them back home.
