6th November, 2020
By Oluwafunke Ishola
Prof Akin Abayomi, the Commissioner for Health in Lagos state, said new COVID-19 cases have been discovered in another secondary boarding school.
Abayomi disclosed that a staff fell ill, received first aid treatment at the school clinic, but later tested positive for COVID-19 at the Lagos State Biobank on Nov. 2.
He noted that contact tracing revealed that a student and four contacts of the staff member were positive for COVID-19.
“Most of the infected persons are predominantly asymptomatic, while some have mild symptoms,” Abayomi said
The commissioner said that the state COVID-19 Incident Command System through the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) was investigating the incident
“We would like to assure members of the public and stakeholders of the school that the situation is completely under control.
“Steps are being taken to contain the spread within the school and reduce exposure to the outside community.
“All parents are being contacted first through the PTA and a family zoom call is being arranged to further allay their fears,” he said.
According to him, COVID-19 presents with very mild symptoms in children and teenagers, compared to other age groups.
Abayomi, however, warned that there was a risk of infected children transmitting the disease to adults who they interact with daily, and who might be at higher risk of severe disease and death.
“Students who test positive are to be isolated in the school premises and, if unwell, will be admitted in one of the accredited isolation centres in Lagos.
“Students are discouraged from going home to avoid infecting members of their families,” he said.
According to him, the Ministry of Health and NCDC are working closely with the Ministry of Education through a joint approach to manage the outbreak in the school.
He said that members of the state EOC, NCDC and their counterparts in the Ministry of Education had been deployed to the school to provide strategic interventions and support.
Abayomi said that the support includes psychosocial, infection prevention control, medical monitoring and risk communication experts to further enlighten affected people.
“COVID-19 is still very much with us and we must strive to prioritise the safety of all, including students and teachers, by adhering strictly to prevention protocols and guidelines issued by the government to prevent its spread,” he said.
He advised residents to observe and practice a high standard of personal and environmental hygiene by using face masks in public places, hand washing and maintaining physical distance to help prevent the spread of the infection.
Abayomi advised residents to call the 08000EKOMED or 08000356633 toll-free line, if they notice any sign or symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue or loss of taste or smell.
NAN