A grade 12 pupil has tested positive for Covid-19 at Grey College in Bloemfontein.

The school for boys said in a letter to parents on Wednesday that the pupil, who hails from Pietermaritzburg and stayed in the hostel, woke up on Tuesday with a headache and a “bad cough”.

The school said he had not displayed any symptoms or fever since Sunday.

“Thanks to swift reaction by the hostel personnel and the medical team, the boy was placed in isolation early on Tuesday morning while he waited for a family member to fetch him,” it said. “A Covid-19 test later confirmed that he tested positive for the virus.” 

Principal Deon Scheepers immediately informed the education department, which instructed the school to shut down the hostel and place staff under quarantine.