KENYA. Many schools in Kenya reopened on Monday after months of COVID-19 lockdown. However, the schools in Kenya are still facing the dilemma to resume education in a way that does not risk COVID-19 transmission.
The government-run Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development is also providing online classes. However, due to the inaccessibility of internet services by poor students, the government decided to resume physical classes. Primary school pupils resumed physical learning on Monday.
The measures taken by the schools to combat COVID-19 are considered inappropriate and are getting backlash from many parents.
Kenyans are reacting with anger to a video showing students being sprayed with a disinfectant that they say could be harmful.
Reacting to the outrage at the COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, Dr Rashid Aman, a member of Kenyan Health Ministry warned schools against spraying methods.
In an open statement, he said, “Those chemicals should not be used on humans…only on surfaces.”
During May, the World Health Organization (WHO) had also warned that spraying of toxic disinfectants could be “physically and psychologically harmful” to people.
Side effects due to toxic disinfectant can range from eye and skin irritations to gastrointestinal effects.
The Africa CDC also issued a report against the use of disinfection cubicles, an early COVID-19 innovation that was popular in African countries.
Meanwhile, Kenya has recorded nearly 42,000 infections with more than 700 deaths due to COVID-19.
