School closed as 110 pupils taken to hospital

Learning and teaching was suspended with immediate effect at a Keiskammahoek school after more than 100 pupils took ill and were taken to hospital.

One hundred and ten pupils from St Matthew’s High School were rushed to SS Gida Hospital complaining of stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea on Tuesday night.

At least 37 pupils were still under observation in hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

When the Daily Dispatch visited the school on Wednesday, the school’s management was in a meeting with officials from the departments of education and health and representatives from the Amathole District Municipality.

Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the pupils who remained in hospital were in stable condition.

On Wednesday education deputy director-general Ray Tywakadi visited pupils in the hospital and later went to the school, where he announced its temporary closure until Monday.

He said of the 110 pupils admitted, “64 of those were discharged last night [on Tuesday] and 44 were kept for observation while some have since been released”.

Tywakadi said they were reviewing a few areas that could be the cause of the outbreak.

This includes the school’s water tank system and, to investigate this, the district municipality will send a technical team to look at the water.

“The second one is food preparation and hostels, especially the occupational safety and standards,” he said.

Mtima said alternative means had been made for the school to access filtered potable water.

64 of those were discharged last night [on Tuesday] and 44 were kept for observation