Some indigenes of Sherigu, a suburb in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East region have procured and distributed reusable nose masks to 4 basic schools in the community.
The gesture is geared towards protecting the vulnerable pupils from getting infected with the coronavirus pandemic.
The beneficiary schools are, Sherigu, Dorongo, Azaalonge, and Apasinaba primary school respectively, all in the community.
Speaking to A1 Radio after the donation, a notable figure with interest in the development of the community, Robert Akazire stated that the donation was part of the community’s effort to augment government initiative in providing personal protective equipment to stem the spread of the virus in schools in the country and the communities at large.
Mr. Akazire, a staff with the Ghana Health Service, used the opportunity to sensitize the children about the virus and ways to stay safe from getting infected, which include frequent washing of hands under running water with soap, wearing of nose masks, social distancing, and use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
“With the new coronavirus emerging daily, the community members, having realized the impact it will have on children in our schools, have solicited support from natives as our quota to curb the spread of the virus among the children”, Mr. Akazire stated.
Another member of the community, John Akanane, entreated teachers of the schools to ensure all the stern COVID-19 measures are followed in the schools since that is the surest way of controlling the spread of the virus.
He assured the schools that the community members are still soliciting more support to purchase PPEs to distribute to the rest of the pupils especially children at schools that were not included in the first phase of the disbursement.
The headteachers of the schools thanked the community members for their show of commitment towards the wellbeing of the pupils.
They further pledged to intensify the coronavirus safety protocols at all times to mitigate the spread of the virus among teachers and pupils.
The timely intervention by the people of Sherigu came at a time the Upper East region recorded 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 11 schools since the reopening of schools in January this year.
The 14 confirmed cases were detected out of 18 suspected cases in schools in the region. As at February 12, the region had 67 active cases with 26 deaths recorded.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|Joshua Asaah|101.1Mhz
