Coronavirus: Ghana final year tertiary institutions reopen on Monday in first step to reopen schools

15 Juin 2020

Accra, Ghana, June 15  (Infosplusgabon) – Universities and other tertiary institutions in Ghana will reopen on Monday for final year students to prepare for their exit examinations as the government implements the first step to reopen schools that were closed in March because of the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Under a phased programme, final year senior high school students, together with one batch of second year students, will also resume on 22 June while the final year junior high school students will resume on 29 June to write their examinations.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his 11th broadcast on Sunday night since the first cases of coronavirus were reported on 12 March, referred to arguments that the government was putting the lives of some 200,000 students, lecturers and non-teaching staff in danger by this re-opening.

These arguments, he said, cite the examples of other countries, which have done so and recorded spikes in their infection case counts, but he reiterated that “there is no one-size-fits-all approach” to the resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have our own unique situation in the country, and we have always taken that it into account in dealing with this disease, much as we are prepared to learn from the examples of others,” he said.

The President noted that already, religious institutions have opened under strict protocols. Private burials are taking place, market places, public transport, including domestic air transport, restaurants, hotels, individual and non-contact sports, and constitutional and statutory bodies are conducting their activities in accordance with social distancing and the relevant hygiene protocols.

Ghana’s confirmed cases jumped by 542 on Sunday to 11,964 from 254,331 tests. The number of recoveries is 4,258, active cases stand at 7,652 and the death toll is 54. Thirteen patients are critically ill while three others are on ventilators.

President Akufo-Addo, outlining measures taken for safety in the educational institutions, said that all tertiary institutions, both public and private, have been disinfected.

“Universities, with their own hospitals and clinics, have been equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases. All other institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, have been mapped to health facilities.”

The president said there will be no mass gatherings and no sporting activities while religious activities, under new protocols, will be permitted. Social distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm on campus and every student, teaching and non-teaching staff will be given three reusable face masks.

Buckets fitted with pipes, sanitisers, liquid soap, and thermometer guns have been distributed to the schools.

He urged students, teachers and non-teaching staff to adhere to enhanced personal hygiene and social distancing protocols, wash their hands with soap, refrain from shaking hands, and wear their masks to, in and from the lecture halls, and on the campus, generally.

“Education, indeed, is the key to the future of our country…We cannot afford to let the pandemic undermine our chances for survival and progress. We have to confront our present and future with confidence, knowing fully well that we must remain, at all times, vigilant and careful,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The president cautioned that the increase in numbers of the virus in the country indicates that it continues to spread and urged members of the public to be vigilant and not to drop their guard.

He implored them public to seek immediate medical attention when they feel the symptoms of the disease.

He reiterated that wearing the face mask or face covering is an offence and the Police have been instructed to enforce this directive.

President Akufo-Addo also expressed concern about the stigma associated with the disease, saying stories of persons who have recovered being shunned by their own relatives and communities, are a source of considerable worry to him.

“We do not have to lose our sense of community because of this pandemic,” he said.

He added: “Our survival is in our own hands. If we are lax and inattentive, we will continue to have serious challenges with the virus. If we are mindful and self-disciplined, we have it in us to defeat this pandemic, and help return our lives to normalcy.”

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/GBJ/GABON2020

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