Tema, March 17, GNA – A section of schools in Tema Community 16 and its environs has closed down following President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directives on COVID-19 containment.
Gates of the Cedar Hills International School, Gaborone West International School, Excel International School and the Abacus Academy (Pre and Primary school) were locked with no movement or limited movements on the school premises.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed during a tour of the Basic Schools in the Community found out that classes were not in session.
President Addo-Dankwa on Sunday, March 15, 2020, at 2200 hours addressed the Nation and directed that Universities, among other learning centres to be closed-down as well as social and religious gatherings be avoided for the next four weeks to prevent more people from being infected.
Few parents and teachers as well as other non-teaching staff who were not aware of the directives came around and had to be sent home by their colleagues.
Both parents and teachers did not want to speak to the issue especially, school heads were not available to talk to the media.
All teachers had also deserted the classrooms except for the few at the Baatsona Tema Metropolitan Assembly and the Cedar Hills Junior High Schools, who were busily preparing for their final year students.
Mrs Doris Dagadu, owner of the Cedar Hills School, told the GNA that the health of everyone was very important, thus, it was appropriate that the President had come out with the directives to protect more people from the Disease.
“Even when one is suffering from Malaria, the person is allowed to go and seek for treatment. It is therefore in the right direction for everybody to be health conscious”.
Mrs Dagadu called on Christians to commit the world specifically, Ghana into the hands of God to intervene in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some parents described the development as disturbing as they had not planned for it and that it would be difficult to manage their work and wards.
Agya Atta, a non-teaching staff, did not agree with government for the “harsh directive” to closedown schools.
For him, it would affect those in the private sector as the payment of school fees was what took care of them.
COVID-19 which originated in the Chinese City of Wuhan has now settled in Europe, with Italy as the new epicenter of the pandemic.
GNA