Speak Out incase of COVID-19 Outbreaks – Lawyer Kirunda Advises Schools

Lawyer and Makerere University School of Law lecturer Robert Kirunda has urged school owners and administrations to speak out in case of any outbreaks of COVID-19 among learners when schools re-open on January 10th, 2022.

Kirunda, while appearing on the NBS TV Morning Breeze show on Monday said that parents have a right to be told if their child tests positive for COVID-19 so that they can be given timely treatment.

“To the owners of schools, please be honest, do not gamble with the lives of children. If you have any positive cases, please declare them to their parents,” Kirunda said.

Kirunda said that there will be legal repercussions for schools that will keep quiet about an outbreak.

“If a parent comes to me wanting to sue because their child died of COVID-19 at your school, God help you if you are the owner of that school,” he added.

The law don said that the worst thing that will ever come out of the school re-opening is if schools learnt nothing from the previous wave of COVID-19 in the country.

In June 2021 at the peak of the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country, the President ordered for the closure of schools in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Several parents were however left stranded and frustrated when they found out their children were sick with COVID-19 but the teachers had concealed the information.

Kirunda said that schools should now know better and inform the parents on time.

Schools across the country are expected to reopen on Monday 10, January 2022 following President Museveni’s directive.