HARARE, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) said Wednesday it has suspended all sporting activities, citing the failure by most schools to reach the mandatory minimum of 70 percent of learners vaccinated against COVID-19.
The decision is a blow to sporting activities in secondary schools, which were now at different levels of competitions.
NASH made the decision in line with a directive issued by the Cabinet in May this year which allowed all secondary schools to resume non-contact sport on the condition that schools would have reached a minimum vaccination threshold of 70 percent second dose for all learners.
NASH president Arthur Maposa said the organization had suspended the games in order to protect the learners from COVID-19.
"Following my quick sampling of the said circular's conditional demands, colleagues, allow me in the interest of protecting us all in the system, to call for an immediate halt to all sporting activities we had resumed at whatever level they are at," Maposa said in a circular.
Maposa acknowledged the excitement that had been brought to both learners and mentors following the resumption of sporting activities as well as the frustration and disappointment that will be caused by the cancellation.
"I am happy to say so far we have not had any negative reports, but it is good to stop now before we encounter any challenges which will leave us nakedly exposed," he said.
Maposa called for a vigorous vaccination campaign in order to reach the mandatory minimum of 70 percent in schools for the quick return of contact sport.
"We will take a step forward once we all reach the required stage. It will be ideal to proceed with evidence of statistics towards the 70 percent target," he said.
In March, the government allowed primary schools to resume all sporting activities while permitting secondary schools to resume non-contact sports, provided they had reached the 70 percent threshold of vaccinated learners.
The decision by NASH came as the government Tuesday lamented the wide gap that exists between first and second dose coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
Zimbabwe was among the first countries on the African continent to roll out COVID-19 vaccination in February last year after receiving a donation of vaccines from China and had targeted to reach herd immunity by December last year.
That goal, however, remains elusive as vaccination lethargy creeps in among the population.
The government has tried various initiatives to ramp up vaccination, including launching a vaccination blitz in March this year targeting children from 12 years and above.
With that blitz, the government had hoped to reach 70 percent of the total population vaccinated by the end of July 2022, but the national coverage still remains below 60 percent.
The government is now hoping to reach herd immunity by December this year. Zimbabwe has a population of more than 14 million people.
Zimbabwe has to date recorded 256,187 COVID-19 cases, 250,080 recoveries and 5,568 deaths. The recovery rate is at 98 percent as the overall number of new COVID-19 cases continues to decrease. ■