Rwandan and Malawian authorities shut down schools on Monday as coronavirus cases surge.
Rwanda closed schools in the capital Kigali for two weeks, but the education ministry said the other regions will be shut if more cases are confirmed.
According to Jean-Marie Vianney Gatabazi, Governor of Northern province, this should serve as a warning to teachers and parents that other schools might be forced to close down if they fail to take care of the children.
This comes after schools reopened in November 2020 after eight months of being closed.
The total number of confirmed cases in Rwanda is more than 11,000 cases and 142 deaths.
Malawi said it would close schools for 15 days and announced all bars will be closed from 8 pm.
Malawi reported over 12,000 cases and some 300 deaths since the outbreak.
Africa has reported over 3.1 million cases and more than 76,000 deaths.
The African Union secured millions coronavirus vaccine doses which are unlikely to emerge on the continent before April.
