COVID-19 in schools: JHS in Oti Region confirms case
As fears over COVID-19 spread increases in senior high schools, a junior high school in the Oti Region has become the first institution to report a COVID-19 case.
Very little is known about the name and location of the school.
“The only reported JHS with a case in the Oti Region. Just one, I think they [Junior High School. Schools] are probably adhering to the protocols more than the others,” the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Badu Sarkodie, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Dr Sarkodie, however, failed to mention the school in question and give more details to when the case was recorded and how many contacts have been traced so far.
He was giving an update on the coronavirus situation in schools in the country, as well as concerns regarding the closure of educational institutions.
“The tertiary schools opened on June 15 and again we haven’t had many events within the tertiary and then the SHS on the June 22 and JHS on June 29.
“Based on the time, if you look at the period, 29th to now is more than two weeks and if we are going by the incubation period, should the JHS be confined, then it will be amongst the safest place for us as a country.
“The senior high schools we have, the data here [suggests] despite the number of cases, a few of them in sporadic quantities that have been reported. The rate within the SHS is much lower than the total population in the country. The least was the junior high schools,” he indicated.
Earlier, a joint statement by the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service confirmed 55 COVID-19 cases at the Accra Girls Senior High School
Six students of Kwahu Bepong Senior High School in the Eastern Region, have been isolated over suspected cases.
But the Ghana Education Service, and the Ghana Health Service, are of the contrary view.
Closure of schools at this point, they argue, is not the best option. They believe, the students are best kept in schools to avert the possible spread.