Fifty-five people at Accra Girls’ Senior High School, including students and members of staff, have tested positive for COVID-19.
A joint statement issued by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana Education Service (GES) said this was being announced after “containment measures” were put in place, following confirmation of the school’s first case on 6 July.
The figure was arrived at after 314 people in the institution were tested for the virus. Two hundred and fifty-nine results returned negative.
“As at 13th July 2020, a total of 314 persons (student and staff) from the school have been tested. Out of these, 55 have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 while 259 persons tested negative.”
Earlier, the GHS and GES had said that six students, a teacher and the teacher’s spouse at Accra Girls’ Senior High School had tested positive for COVID-19.
Parents and guardians besieged the school premises, demanding that their wards be released.
Responding to the agitation, the statement said a team of experts at various levels from the GHS, led by national officers, had been to the school together with colleagues from the Education Service to put in the necessary control measures.
Continuous training
The statement said although it was understandable that parents would be anxious about their children’s welfare and might besiege the school to remove them, it strongly advised against making such a move.
“If a student is infected, there is a risk of further contagion in the community if he or she is taken out of school,” it said.
“A team of 200 personnel, drawn from the GES, GHS, and the regional and district directorates of education, are actively spread out all over the country and are monitoring the situation closely.
“Further, all … senior high schools have been mapped with health facilities to ensure that any suspected cases are promptly dealt with per the laid-down health protocols.”
