Seventy-six of the 80 students who have been under quarantine for Covid-19 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg in Ekurhuleni since March 20 have been cleared to go home, the Gauteng health department said on Sunday.
A group of 80 students from various Technical Vocational Training (TVET) colleges returned to South Africa on March 20 from Wuhan in China after having been in work placement at Chinese companies arranged through various Sector Education and Training Authorities, the department said in a statement.
On arrival to South Africa, these students were placed in quarantine. All 80 students had tested negative, and 76 of them had been cleared to go home. Four students remained behind for further observation, because they had pre-existing medical conditions.
They were set to go home on Tuesday. The 76 students were sent off home by the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Blade Nzimande and officials from the Gauteng health department at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Saturday.
“We want to thank both the Gauteng health team and Birchwood for caring for the students until now,” health MEC Bandile Masuku said in the statement.
-ANA
