Even as the death toll and hospitalised persons from cholera infection increased in Lagos State, the state government says there is no cause for alarm, especially in schools and any other place, as the situation is under control.
The state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, gave this position on Friday in an exclusive interview with Saturday Tribune.
He said the Ministry of Health is the one monitoring and also providing advisory guidelines on the disease and how to contain and prevent its spread in the state.
He declared that while the health ministry is doing a fantastic job in this regard, he noted that all relevant government ministries, including education and agencies, are also being carried along with the situation reports and their own contributions to jointly tame and stamp out the disease from the state.
Speaking on the involvement of the education ministry, he said, “We have taken many precautionary guidelines necessary in our schools to ensure the disease does not spread among our students and school workers.
“Part of these are frequent handwashing and avoiding unnecessary body contact.
“We have also sent posters to schools to enlighten all our teachers and other school workers, who in turn enlighten their students on what to do at their individual levels to prevent the spread of the disease.
“And more importantly, now that our SS3 students are done with their WASSCE and have left school,
“So, we have more space for our students across the board. “They are not expected to be crowded in any classroom.
“We have also put first aid treatment facilities in place in our schools in case of any eventuality.
“There are equally two hotlines that every teacher can dial and report if they have any suspicious cases of the disease in their schools.
“The hotlines will enable them to make quick reports to any health clinic nearest to them.
“So, we have multiple precautionary measures in place to ensure we don’t record further spread of the disease.
When asked about the possibility of shutting down schools because of the surge, the commissioner said, “There is no cause for such action.”
According to him, everything is under control, and even at that, the Ministry of Health is monitoring the situation.
“And they are the ones to determine if there will be a need or exigency to shut down schools.
“But as we are talking, the situation is still very much under control, and we don’t pray it goes the other way.”
Meanwhile, the Parent Forum of public schools in the state has also expressed concern over the incident, indicating its efforts so far to join the government in curtailing the disease and preventing its spread, especially in schools where children are converged in large numbers.
The chairman of the forum, Deacon Olusoji Adams, told the Saturday Tribune in an interview that the forum had launched a sensitization campaign among themselves at all levels across local government areas about their roles in the fight against the disease.
According to him, we have told all our members, from the state to the zone and then to the local government levels, to take the issue seriously by supporting and cooperating with the state government to jointly contain the disease.
When asked if it would be necessary for the state government to close down schools at least for a while pending when the disease will be effectively curtailed, he said, “The government will know if that will be necessary to do.”
He, however, advised the government to look into the direction of sachet water producers to ensure their products are safe for consumption.
Doing so, he noted, would greatly help in containing the disease.
According to him, not all sachets of water, whether wearing the NAFAD number or not, is safe for consumption, as some are being produced illegally and in an unsafe environment.
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