A GRADE 7 pupil at Mahlathini Primary School in Cowdray Park in Bulawayo tested positive for COVID-19 last week after he got into contact with one of his relatives who succumbed to the virus in the same suburb. BY NIZBERT MOYO Acting Bulawayo medical director Welcome Mlilo on Friday told Southern Eye that pupils and staff at the school were all taken for COVID-19 tests, adding that the results were not yet out. “Yes, a Grade 7 pupil tested positive for COVID-19 and all staff and pupils at the school are being tested,” Mlilo said. One of the relatives of the pupil, Sipho Tshuma, said he could have gotten the virus from his nephew, who succumbed to COVID-19 last week. The COVID-19 scare at the school came as government has ordered all schools to reopen for the rest of pupils who had remained home awaiting their turn in the phased programme. The scare also came as police in Bulawayo have warned commuter omnibus operators to comply with government’s COVID-19 regulations and stop illegal operations as the city is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. “'We would like to urge the vehicle owners to comply with the government directives on COVID-19 and stop playing cat and mouse games as they risk being arrested,” provincial police spokesperson Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said. She said 127 public service vehicles were impounded last week, including buses, for failure to observe set regulations. Government banned all private commuter omnibuses and ordered them to join the Zupco franchise. Commuters have complained over the new transport arrangement, saying it was not reliable. As a result, most private commuter omnibuses ply the city-residential routes illegally, and have been playing cat and mouse games with law enforcement agents.