Keeping our schools safe, secure from COVID-19 pandemic

The gross disregard for and non-adherence to health safety protocols in the country has been a major challenge in the fight against the deadly COVID-19 global pandemic.

Last Wednesday, at the Minister’s Press Briefing, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, called on individuals, institutions and households to get involved to help avert the escalation of the already serious third wave the country was saddled with.

“If households, service providers and institutions strictly ensure that people they admit into their spaces adhere to the safety protocols, particularly the washing of hands, proper wearing of face masks and the social distancing rule, the numbers will come down,” he said.

We recall recent reported cases of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in schools, which must be of great concern to parents, school authorities and the managers of education in the country.

The situation, undoubtedly, calls for immediate steps by school authorities and management to prevent the spread of the virus among students, a development which will make schools fertile grounds for its spread.

The numbers are getting scarier by the day. The GHS indicated that 404 schools had recorded cases of COVID-19, with the cumulative total case count standing at 2,864.

Currently, there are 304 active cases among students in seven regions (Volta - 138, Ashanti - 57, Oti - 38, Eastern - 26, Bono East - 20, Greater Accra - 19, Western - 4, Ahafo - 4).

Greater Accra Region has the highest number of cases (650), with the North East Region being the only region with no case recorded in schools. Sadly, one student with underlying conditions passed on.

These cases leave much to be desired and the situation is quite disappointing because the Daily Graphic believes the school environment represents a well-confined and coordinated area that should be easily monitored.

We call on school authorities to be more proactive and redouble their efforts at controlling the spread of the virus by enforcing strict adherence to all the protocols. It is a known fact that on the various school compounds, students walk around with no face masks, while those who wear them do so wrongly. The only times the observation of the protocols is enforced are when the students are in the classroom.

We believe that the time has come for schools to tighten their enforcement rules regarding the COVID-19 protocols. They need to take a look at students eating in the dining hall because that is the time they drop their face masks, sit around tables and converse. With this third wave which spreads like wild fire, schools need to intensify the sensitisation to the virus for their students and its impact on academic work.

The Daily Graphic urges school authorities to enforce the wearing of masks all the time, except during meals and at bedtime, while errant students should be sanctioned to serve as a deterrent. There should be Veronica buckets with all the associated items, such as liquid soap, tissue and hand sanitiser, at vantage points around school compounds.

Experts have told us that the virus is here to stay and so we must all learn to stay with it. One of the best ways to do so is strictly adhere to the safety protocols.

School authorities must give parents the assurance and confidence that children entrusted into their care are safe. Our schools must be safe grounds for our children to study and nothing should be done to compromise their safety.

There is no denying the fact that to beat COVID-19, the enforcement of the safety protocols has to be a shared responsibility and not the preserve of the security agencies or public health officials. That is why we trust our school authorities not to let down their guard in the fight against the deadly virus but do everything possible to keep our schools secure and safe.