A total of eight United Herzlia Schools in Cape Town have taken precautions, and closed their campuses after a parent, who recently travelled back from New York, started showing symptoms of coronavirus.

The man’s children have attended school for the past four days.

He has since been tested for the virus, but the results will only be available on Friday, reports News24.

Andries van Renssen, director of United Herzlia Schools in Cape Town, told YOU the parent had returned from New York in the US on Sunday where he’d possibly been in contact with the virus.

“We as a school have since decided to do the responsible thing and act preventatively,” Van Renssen says.

“We’ve decided to shut down eight of the school’s campuses until the end of the week.”

He says that the school has already taken preventative measures, including raising awareness among students about washing their hands, and keeping some distance between one another.

“We don’t think there’s any reason for panic – we’re just erring on the side of caution. We’re waiting for the result of the parent’s test and will then act accordingly.”

The Department of Health has said that they are aware of the case and will keep the country updated.

Since the first case of coronavirus was reported in the Western Cape yesterday, an air of mild panic has settled over the province.

Please, everyone, keep calm.

We’ve got this.

[source:news24]