The Inspector-General of the National Schools Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA) has stated that schools found in violation of the safety protocols will be shutdown.

The NaSIA, according to Dr Haggar Hilda Ampadu, is mandated to ensure a safe environment for students in Ghana amidst the pandemic and will not hesitate to close down a school if need be.

“Should we receive a call that says children are been endangered we will deploy a team there right on the spot. If we have to close the school down which we have done in the past we will close the school down to ensure the safety of our learners and put the right protocols in place. So we do not spare proprietors who just violate and put children at risk.”

In support of this statement, Dr Ampadu made reference to an instance where the Authority closed down a school "because the proprietor didn’t want to do the right thing and the police had to go and close the gate so that no one would be allowed into the school".

Her comment comes after a private school at Akosombo in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region recorded 40 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

This was revealed by the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Winfred Ofosu.

According to him, most of the cases recorded were among students and staff who visited various health facilities within the constituency.

Speaking on The Super Morning Show, Friday, Dr Ampadu advised that the infected students and staff should be isolated and treated in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Currently the advice we have in our guideline is to say that if there is a positive case and if it is a boarding house in the case of the Akosombo school, they have to isolate.

"Why are we saying that? Because if you allow the learners and the student to go back to the community, there will be a community spread ­– they will take it to their home, their families and they will spread it among other people.”

She further encouraged parents not to rush to schools for their children in order to prevent community spread, noting that isolating and treating the student at this point is the best option.

"Accra Girls during the exams we heard cases, we kept them on the campus, they were able to isolate and they were treated and then it was resolved so we are using the similar approach for the school that my inspectors are," she stated."