Nigerian Govt Directs Schools To Stop Requesting COVID-19 Test From Students
The Nigerian Government on Monday directed schools across the country to stop requesting for COVID-19 test results from returning students as a requirement for resumption.
Schools in Nigeria are resuming for the first term of the 2020/2021 academic year as the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps through the country.
The government in a statement by Ben Goong, spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Education, said that COVID19 test was not required for returning students to be readmitted to their schools.
Goong said only temperature checks should be carried out on students and or persons trying to visit schools.
âNo COVID-19 test required for resumption of students. The Federal Ministry of Education says no COVID-19 Test is required for returning students to be admitted into their schools,â he said.
âOnly temperature checks should be carried out on students and any other person crossing any school gate.â
Goong said the directive was in response to requests by some schools demanding COVID-19 test results from parents and their returning students to school.
The government had earlier said there was no plan to reschedule school resumption date which was fixed for Jan. 18.
Last week, an official of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 said the reopening of schools and religious centres without adherence to safety protocols contributed to the rise in COVID-19 cases across Nigeria.
Since December 2020, there has been an increase in coronavirus cases in Nigeria, an indication that the country has entered the second wave of the pandemic.
Safety ProtocolÂ
The government, while approving Jan. 18 as the resumption date for all schools last week, insisted that all students, teachers and workers in schools must wear face masks.
Other protocols mandated for schools include âavoiding overcrowding, limitations in class sizes and hostel occupancy, availability of functional health clinics with facilities for isolation, transportation of suspected cases to medical facilities, among others.Â
Nigeria has recorded over 110,000 cases and 1,435 deaths from COVID-19 with 19,635 active cases.
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