The call by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) for schools in the country to shut down to control the rising spread of Coronavirus in the country has been shot down by Education Minister-designate, Dr. Yaw Adutwum
He says with the measures put in place, it is safer for our children to be in school.
The GMA has called on the government to shut down schools in the wake of increasing fatalities among COVID patients in the country.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GMA Dr. Paa Kwasi Baidoo said the rate of infections will get out of hand if immediate measures are not adopted.
“With the evidence available now, I will not hesitate to say that let’s close or suspend schools. We can test the children, send those who test negative home and keep those who test positive, and manage them. Ghana will not be the only country where they’ve opened schools and closed them because of #COVID19. So there should be a national discussion on what threshold we hit before we close down schools”.
But Dr. Adutwum in responding to a question on whether he supports this call said we would have to look at the dynamics of every situation and measures put in place to protect the children.
He explained that one important measure or indicator is ensuring that the school is not a breeding ground for the virus to the extent that the school becomes safer for the children compared to the communities, then you don’t shut down the school.
He added that with safer protocols, the highest level of cleanliness, disinfection, and sanitizing then you will create a safe haven for the children.
The nominee said on the other hand if the schools become super spreader sites of the virus, then you can revisit closure.
He maintained with what the Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service have been able to do, it is safer now for our children to be in school.
“Based on what the Ghana Education Service is doing and supported by the Ghana Health Service, I will say that the schools are safer environments and therefore I will say we should close down schools”, he stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com