There has been increasing in the number of virus cases in Ghanaian schools among children between the ages of 0 to 17 years but the nongovernmental organization, Child Right International (CRI) has called on the government not to shut down schools considering the data available to them.
According to them, the number of virus cases among children in Ghana has not yet reached the level that we as a country should be thinking of closing down schools. The executive director of child Right international (CRI) Mr. Bright Appiah explained that although the number of cases among children has increased that shouldn’t be a factor to consider in closing down schools.
Mr. Appiah stated that since the last four months starting from November 9, 2020, to February 4, 2021, Ghana has recorded a case of 1,737 among children between the ages of 0 to 17 years. He said this in a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said that three major indicators can be used to determine the severity of the virus cases among children and how measures can be put in place to help curb the spread of the virus and protect our children. These indicators according to Mr. Bright include cases of infection among young ones, admission of children, and hospitalization, and mortality.
The executive director of CRI stated that data gather by the Ghana health services and the Child Right International (CRI) has indicated an increase in cases of the virus among children, which he described the situation as worrying but no child has died from the virus. He also added that the admission of children with the virus in the hospital is very low.
Mr. Appiah said the hospitalization of children with the virus is very low as compared to an adult who has the virus. He added that although we have not got to the second and third indicators we should ensure that we adhere to the safety protocols outlined by health professionals to prevent the spread of viruses among children.
He however encourages the government to organize random testing in schools that are recording high numbers of cases. He also charged Ghana education services to put on effective measures to ensure that students adhere to the protocols to reduce the number of infections among children.