As part of government’s continuous measures to halt the spread of the malignant novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the ministry of education (MoE) and the Ghana Education (GES), in partnership with waste management expert, Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), has begun disinfecting tertiary institutions in the Ashanti Region.
It will cover both public and private universities, polytechnic universities and health facilities in the region.
The exercise follows the directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 15th national address on measures being taken against the spread of COVID-19 for tertiary institutions in the country to reopen on August 24th, 2020 to allow continuing students complete their academic calendar.
To this end, the president said the government through the MoE and the Ghana Education Service (GES) will ensure that all tertiary institutions in the country were disinfected.
On day one of the exercise in the Ashanti Region, Zoomlion disinfected institutions including the Seventh Day Adventist College of Education (SDACOE), Agona, ST. Monica’s College of Education, Mampong and Mampong Technical College of Education among others. Facilities of these institutions that underwent disinfection were halls of residences, lecture halls, various faculties, administration blocks and offices.
The Zoomlion disinfection crew also used foggers to disinfect the open spaces and other surfaces in all of these institutions.
Speaking to the media after the exercise, the Principal of Seventh Day Adventist College, Dr Peter Ofori Atakorah, underscored the importance of the exercise, adding that ‘so far his college had not recorded any positive case of the virus.’
He praised the government and its partners for the second round of disinfection in tertiary institutions. According to him, the exercise will help keep the school’s environment safe from the virus.
In addition, Dr Ofori Atakorah said the school had put in place adequate safety measures to protect the returning continuing students against the virus. These, he said, included putting Veronica buckets and alcohol-based hand sanitisers at vantage points to be used by the students.
“We will also enforce the use of nose masks by the students, the teaching and non-teaching staff members,” he said.
It would be recalled that a similar exercise was conducted in mid-June, this year when the president directed that all schools and universities to be re-opened for final year students to write their exit examinations.