Shutting down schools over rising covid-19 cases unnecessary – GHS

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says shutting down schools in the wake of an upsurge in COVID-19 cases is unnecessary.

The service insists the schools are safer for students and pupils during this period.

This follows calls by a section of the public that government should consider closing down schools to curb the spread of the virus amongst students.

Speaking at a press conference, the Director-General of Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said “you are looking at about 11 million pupils in school and if you look at this number, it doesn't warrant [school closures].”

Though coronavirus cases have been recorded in over 360 schools since January 2021, he said: “it is safer than community spread in the communities.”

“What it is, is that, if you are able to abide by the protocols whether you are in school or at home, you should be able to avert this spread just like so many other schools.”

According to earlier figures from the service, 2,323 students from a total of 363 schools have tested positive for COVID-19 since the resumption of schools in January 2021.

The Ghana Education Service with advice from the Ghana Health Service directed heads of the various Senior High and Technical schools not to allow final year students to go home for their mid-term break in a bid to contain the Coronavirus outbreak on campuses.

Ghana currently has 3,466 active cases of the virus.

This has more than doubled from the beginning of July when Ghana had 1,573 active cases of the virus.

Overall, it has recorded 99,734 cases of the virus with 817 deaths since March 2020.

The highly transmissible strain of COVID-19 which originated from India, the Delta variant, has also been detected in Ghana.

The country began its vaccination drive and so far, 1,271,393 doses have been administered.

Of the doses administered, 405,971 have received first and second doses of the AstraZanca Vaccine.

---citinewsroom