About ten students and three Officers of the Ghana Immigration Service on Friday collapsed during the Independence Day parade held at Nalerigu, the North East Regional capital.

The students and Officers, who stood for several hours in the scorching sun from the early hours of the morning, started collapsing one after the other and were carried away to a sick bay set up on the parade ground.

Mr Iddrisu Imudana, an Emergency Nurse at the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the heat from the sun could have accounted for their collapse.

According to him, standing for long hours was not advisable, and explained that “When you stand for long and there is no adequate blood flow to the brain, it can cause you to collapse”.

He said the situation was under control, as all the cases brought were properly managed, adding that they had an ambulance on standby to immediately transport any case they could not manage to the Baptist Medical Centre for proper medical care.

Asked if the team assessed the Random Blood Sugar (RBS) levels of the victims to rule out hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, Mr Imudana responded in the affirmative and said their RBS levels were within the normal range.

“After they recover, we give them glucose to boost their energy levels. So far we have not recorded low or high Random Blood Sugar. It is possible they collapsed because they stood for long”.

He said there was the possibility that the victims might not have eaten since morning and stood for long, “Imagine someone standing from 0800 hours, and the programme started around 1000hours, definitely such cases would be expected”.

Mr Imudana advised that occasions such as the independence parade needed to start during the very early hours of the morning so that before noon the participants would disperse.

Addressing the parade of pupils, students, and security service personnel, Mr Solomon Namlit Boar, the North East Regional Minister, urged the students to avoid crowding at their boarding houses to prevent incidences of meningitis.

“You should endeavour to open your windows for easy circulation of air and take enough water during the day,” he said, and reminded the gathering about the coronavirus, which was fast spreading across many nations.

Mr Boar said it was critical for them to observe simple hygienic practices such as covering their mouths when coughing, and adhere to proper hand washing regularly, avoid hugging and handshakes at least within the outbreak period.