The KwaZulu-Natal education department has dismissed a circular permitting the resumption of the use of schools for religious and other activities as “fake news”.

The circular, written on an official letterhead and addressed to education officials including principals as well as school governing bodies, claims the department “lifted the restriction of using the school premises in the community with immediate effect ...”

The fake document, which has been doing the rounds, goes on to to state: “Therefore all the business can start operating in accordance to the Covid-19 precautions.

“Half of its normal attendance but not more than 250 people with social distance and sanitisation plus mask. The principals and SGB are advised to monitor the entire situation at school all the time.”

Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi told SowetanLIVE sister publication TimesLIVE that the circular was fake.

“We had issued a circular stopping schools to be used for any activity other than teaching and learning to protect our educators and learners from contracting the Covid-19 virus.

“Our schools are sanitised every afternoon in preparation for the following teaching and learning day.

“There are other people who use our schools as churches and other activities.

“So we cannot open up our schools to be used when there [will] be no guarantee of screening and all other protocols and educators and learners come back to such an environment,” said Mahlambi.

TimesLIVE