Mixed reaction to school closures in South Africa

Parents in Soweto had mixed reactions regarding South Africa's decision to close schools as of Monday due to the spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.

South Africa has typically reported more than 11,000 new cases a day in the last two weeks and the country now has more than 445,000 in all, including more than 6,700 deaths.

The national total makes up the world’s fifth largest caseload and more than half the cases across the African continent.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the recovery from the pandemic will be “long and difficult” but experts say the worst is yet to come.

A growing concern is poorly resourced Eastern Cape province, which makes up 16% of the country’s cases but more than 20% of deaths.

South Africa’s public labs continue to face testing delays, with the average turnaround time for results at just over a we