President Edgar Lungu of Zambia ordered schools on Friday to delay reopening by two weeks.
Schools were due to open on January 18, but on February 1, following Lungu’s directive, they will now welcome back students.
The President stated in a statement that the delay was intended to allow the school authorities to prepare adequately in order to put preventive measures against the pandemic in place.
He said the nation has seen an increase in cases of infections that could put students and employees at risk if schools resumed teaching without effective safety measures.
Teachers’ unions expressed concern about the readiness of the education ministry before the reopening.
According to Africanews, as of Friday, Zambia had reported 32,800 coronavirus cases.
