At least 181 students and staff of a private school in Lekki Lagos have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Lagos State Government disclosed this yesterday.
In a related development, 212 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide yesterday, bringing total confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 61,194 and 1119 deaths while 52304 have been discharged.
Meanwhile,Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has called for calm, emphasising that residents must continue to obey health protocols as the virus was still very much around.
In a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, he said the development was captured during surveillance and case investigation in the school, adding that there were 141 students and staff in the school.
Abayomi said: “A 14-year-old SS1 female student fell ill on October 3 and was sent home after receiving first aid at the school. The student subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday October 6 in one of the accredited private labs in Lagos.
“I am assuring Lagosians that the state government, through the incident commands system, has the situation under control, stressing that appropriate steps have been taken to contain the spread and manage the positive cases. He noted that all parents have been contacted and counselled via a family zoom call on 13th October to further allay their fears and communication between school authorities and parents continues. The zoom call was attended by the commissioners for Health and Education and all relevant responders and stakeholders.
“There is a total lockdown and movement restriction in the school with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Pillar of the EOC and Ibeju-Lekki LGA State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officer (DSNO) reporting at the school daily to conduct further investigation while positive students and staff have been isolated on the premises and given the COVID-19 home-care treatment packs and are being monitored in isolation within the school premises,” Abayomi said.
The commissioner stated that the school authorities supported by the state Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education were following the COVID-19 guidelines as set out by the government. According to him, “students are to be isolated in the school premises and if unwell will be admitted in one of the accredited isolation centers in Lagos. Students are discouraged from going home to avoid infecting members of their families.”
The Ministry of Health is working closely with the Ministry of Education to jointly manage this minor but significant outbreak in this boarding school. “I am pleased to announce that all the infected students are predominantly asymptomatic while some have very mild symptoms, no student has required hospitalisation,” he said.
