Closing down schools not an option – Ghana Health Service boss

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, has said that the government is not considering closing down schools despite the increasing cases of the COVID-19 disease in schools.

More than 10 Senior High Schools (SHSs) have so far recorded confirmed cases of the novel COVID-19 disease with reports indicating that Accra Girls Senior High School tops the list with 55 cases.

Confirmed cases have also been reported in schools such as Archbishop Porter Girls, Mawuli SHS and Suhum Senior High and Technical School.

The increasing numbers have led to calls for the closure of the schools.

The main opposition political party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) at a press briefing demanded that government closes down the SHSs to halt the spread of the disease.

“We also appeal to the government to urgently, in view of the high infection rate among health professionals, provide the required type and number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers.

“As a matter of fact, the government must heed to calls to revise its conceptualization of frontline health workers and immediately provide the required PPE to aid our health workers in combating the virus,” Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi demanded at a press conference.

This suggestion, Dr Kuma Aboagye in an interview on ‘An?pa B?fo?’ on Angel 102.9 FM on Tuesday said, is not an option he would want the government to consider.

To him, life must still go on despite the presence of the disease.

“We ought to learn to live with the virus…we should find means of living our normal lives despite the virus being around and that is what we are doing…,” he told host Captain Smart.

He further commented that the country is recording high recoveries because of the treatment which they give to patients.