Coronavirus: ‘Your wards are doing well’ – Health Director to parents of AIS students

Correspondence from Eastern Region

The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services has allayed fears of parents following the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Akosombo International School (AIS).

Dr Winfred Ofosu who did not confirm AIS as the school at the centre of the outbreak with the explanation that he was yet to receive a full briefing from the Asuogyaman District Health Directorate, however, confirmed that 42 students of the said school had tested positive for the virus.

He, however, added that there was no cause for alarm as all students including the infected, were “doing well.”

“All those who tested positive, most of them did not have symptoms, they are asymptomatic and they are in stable condition doing well. Those who tested negative are also fine and they are being observed for now. So, for now, there is nothing alarming coming from the school and we will like to assure all parents that their wards are doing well,” he said in an interview with GhanaWeb.

Samples of all 500 students of the school were taken for testing after a student of the school tested positive for the virus.

Dr. Ofosu said the discovery led to mass testing of all the students of the senior high school.

“What basically happened was that one student showed symptoms so he was tested and he came out positive. As a result, they decided to screen the school and all the students were tested so most of the 42 that we’re talking about are asymptomatic,” he disclosed.

The infected students are currently in isolation in the school and the negative cases, according to the health director were also being monitored in the school.

Currently, health officials are in close contact with the school authorities monitoring the situation as measures with the utmost priority to halt the spread of the virus to other students.

The Health Director said there was only one other positive case of COVID-19 in an unnamed school in the Oda municipality.

The Eastern Region currently as at Thursday, February 4, 2021, has 322 active cases of COVID-19, 70 of them in the Asuogyaman district.