Health officials in Botswana say they have reached agreements to get enough COVID-19 vaccine injections to treat the country’s whole adult population and are set to becoming the first African nation to be fully vaccinated. The agreements were announced this week in a speech by Mosepele Mosepele, a member of Botswana’s Presidential COVID-19 Task Force.
The Southern African country has had a total of over 48,00 confirmed COVID cases and less than 800 deaths so far. Last month, Botswana received 60,000 doses of the COVISHIELD vaccine, which is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Additionally, the government received 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China. Botswana is also expecting 1.9 million more doses to cover its 2.3 million population.
With regards to reopening its economy, the Ministry of Education issued a statement on Thursday saying the inspections will begin on Friday and run-up to Monday “to ensure the safe return of learners and teachers”. The first batch of students who will report for the beginning of the second term on May 11 will consist of upper primary students (classes five, six, and seven) and those from junior secondary (form three) and senior secondary (form five). The second batch of students will report on May 18 and will comprise lower primary students (classes one, two, three, and four), and other classes of junior (form one and two) and secondary students (form four). The third and final batch of students, pre-primary learners, and those with special education needs will report on May 25.
