"Uzalo" star Gugu Gumede, who plays the infamous Mamlambo on Mzansi’s number one soapie, is taking the government to task, urging for schools to be closed until after the coronavirus peak.
The actor voiced her opinion on the ongoing debate about shutting down schools, as the number of learners and teachers contracting the coronavirus is spreading rapidly.
Taking to Instagram Instagram on Wednesday, the 28-year-old wrote: “So as I was saying, close schools until the peak passes! Your argument may be that the virus is not that dangerous to kids, but they’ll pass it on to their elders, who could die, which could lead to more impoverished child-headed households. Don’t follow 1st-world trends in a 3rd-world country.”
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A post shared by Gugu Gumede(@itsgugugumede) on Jul 15, 2020 at 11:24am PDT
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech during the coronavirus imbizo on Wednesday.
He weighed in on the call by teacher unions on the closure of schools ahead of the peak of the virus.
Schooling for Grade 7 and 12 learners resumed in June after the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, announced that all schools will reopen, despite many concerns that arose regarding the safety of learners and teachers.
Many South Africans including celebrities have since expressed their fears of the virus spreading, especially with the reopening of schools.
In May, media personalities Khanyi Mbau and Uyanda Mbuli urged South Africans to join them in signing a petition for schools to be shut down for the remainder of the 2020 academic year.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheKids?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheKids
— KHANYI MBAU (@MbauReloaded)
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/CyrilRamaphosa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CyrilRamaphosa @PresidencyZA we are an organized group of 151 400+ concerned parents & legal guardians of some of the minor children expected to return to school on the 1st of June 2020 despite a state of national disaster #forthekids https://t.co/FPjxE7W5gs
— Uyanda (@UyandaM)
The petition is currently sitting at 179 935 signatures.
Schools closed in March shortly before President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a level 5 national lockdown.