10th June, 2020
The Cross River State government has announced that public schools in the state will resume for a trial on June 16.
This is in a press statement released by Mr Christian Ita, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the governor.
According to the statement, Governor Ben Ayade has directed the mass production of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for the trial resumption of public schools.
Ayade said the protective gears which include face shields and PPE overalls, will be deployed to schools free of charge for the use of students and medical personnel in the state.
He said; “Perhaps, we have to adopt a new lifestyle that will integrate coronavirus as part of our lifestyle. And so for Cross River State, we have a strong commitment that our children cannot continue to stay at home, the more they stay, the more the moral decadence, the more indiscipline”.
”In life, there is a time where you have to be in class and once the children miss that delicate phase, it becomes very difficult.
“I think it is wise for the kids to go back to school and I have seen this happen in China where kids are back to schools with their nose masks and shields.
”So you wear your nose mask and you wear your face shield when you get to school you drop the mask and wear only your shield to allow for more ventilation and more breathing.
The governor also mentioned that Cross River is the first state to mass-produce Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in Nigeria and as such, be compensated by the federal government.
“We believe it is time for the federal government to also show love and support to Cross River State.
”We have always led from the front and we think the mass production of PPE is an added advantage for which all health practitioners from nurses to radiographers must be equipped with PPE for them to work.
“I think that the federal government will be excited to encourage the resumption of schools because obviously the coronavirus has come to stay with us and the reality is that countries that have attempted to resume schools have had to contend with the increasing prevalence of the virus but obviously how long can we wait as a country”?
Cross River state is still the only Nigerian state yet to officially announce a Coronavirus case.