The Nigerian Medical Association on Mondayfaulted the Federal Government’s directive to
schools to resume on September 22 as against
October 12.
It said through its National Secretary-General, Dr.
Olawunmi Alayaki, that all schools ought to
remain shut till all those under surveillance for
the Ebola Virus Disease in the country had been
certified free.
“We are not happy with this decision on the
resumption of schools. Schools should be shut till
the last suspected case or patient is certified free
of the virus,” the NMA said.
Before the association made this known the Rivers
State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson
Parker, had disclosed that an 18 month-old baby
had been quarantined in the state for showing
symptoms of the deadly virus.
The NMA suggested that the resumption of
schools could be shifted till December or early
part of next year because if Ebola should spread
to any school, it would “assume another
dimension.”
It said, “ We can shift the resumption date till next
year or in the next three months if that is the time
it will take. Government should have enough time
to follow the standard procedure for containing
the virus.
“Parents have no reason to be in a hurry
because if Ebola should enter any school, it will
assume another dimension. Children cannot
survive isolation like adults.
“Nigeria is peculiar because of her large
population and we should be pragmatic and
proactive. It will not augur well for the country if
we have another outbreak due to carelessness.”
Also, the Lagos State chapter of NMA said that the
Federal Government should have postponed the
resumption date till the completion of surveillance
and monitoring of contacts in the affected states.
It said through its chairman, Dr. Tope Ojo, that
many of the public and private schools in the
country lacked basic hygiene and sanitary
facilities that could help prevent the spread of the
EVD by pupils.
It stated, “It would not have cost the Federal
Government anything to have waited till those
under surveillance have completed the 21 days in
all the states where they are being monitored.
“The government knows that it takes a longer time
for children to get used to the idea of hygiene and
sanitation. They are even more vulnerable
because they would play with each other whether
they are sick or not.
“How many children know that they should use
hand sanitisers or avoid contact with anybody
that has fever?
“Waiting till October when at least the situations in
Rivers and Lagos states would have been
conclusively managed is another safety measure
the government should have taken . These kids
are not studying to get a degree, so we are sure it
would not have affected schools’ curricula.”
Also the immediate president of the NMA, Dr.
Osahon Enabulele, expressed concern about the
September 22 resumption date, wondered about
the safety parameters government used in fixing
the date.
Enabulele said that the grouse of many parents
with the resumption date stemmed from the fact
that they were not convinced that schools had
met the safety standards for the prevention of
Ebola.
He added that if the government was bent on
schools adhering to the date, it should begin now
to check the sanitary facilities put in place by
their proprietors to ensure the safety of pupils.
Enabulele said, “We must know the parameters
that the Federal Government used to arrive at the
resumption date in the first place. Has the Federal
Government carried out a safety assessment in
registered schools in the country? There should
be a checklist and only those who meet it should
be certified fit to reopen.
“The minimum standard is that all schools should
have a dispensary, a sick bay where sick children,
especially those with fever, are properly managed
and tested.”
Saying that he knew that such facilities were not
available in many schools, he asked: So, why the
rush for their resumption?”
Also, a consultant paediatrician with the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba, Prof.
Edamisan Temiye, called on the three tiers of
government to ensure that schools had access to
water on their premises.
The former Lagos NMA chairman, also warned
parents not to force sick children to go to school
as this could expose them to infections.
Temiye said, “Governments must ensure that
clean water flows on schools’ premises so that
children can wash their hands regularly. Water is
important for sanitation and it is the duty of
government to ensure that citizens have access to
it.
“Also, parents should take sick children to
hospital. Don’t give them drugs and force them to
go to school. Ebola can only be caught from a
sick person. School authorities should watch out
for and isolate sick children from others.
“Again school owners should give hand sanitisers
to their pupils before allowing them into their
premises. They should also have thermal
thermometers to check the temperatures of their
pupils before allowing them into their school
premises.”
The Minister of Health had before the doctors
spoke with one of our correspondents in Lagos,
said that there was nothing to fear over the
directive to schools to resume on September 22.
Chukwu, who gave an update of EVD in Nigeria,
said, “We have contained the situation. Ebola is
no longer in the streets anywhere in Nigeria.
“We are working with the Federal Ministry of
Education and we made it clear that in institutions
having students returning from outside Nigeria,
they should let us know.
“We will work with them and we have
questionnaires which we are already using on
airlines and ships coming into Nigeria as well as
other means of transport. They will fill
questionnaires. We will ask questions and
conduct tests to see that they don’t have fever.”
The minister also revealed that a fiancé of one of
Patrick Sawyer’s contacts who was confirmed
positive for EVD had since recovered.
He added, “So far, all the cases that have been
confirmed in Nigeria are traceable to the index
case (Sawyer). As of this (Monday) morning, the
total number of confirmed cases of EVD in Nigeria
is 19. Fifteen were in Lagos and four in Port
Harcourt.
“The 19th case is the fiancé of one of the primary
contacts of Mr. Sawyer who died of the disease.
The test results were equivocal but further tests
established the disease. He had only mild
symptoms and he has since recovered from the
illness. He was quarantined but because of the
equivocal test result he was not placed on active
treatment.
“The total number of deaths from EVD in Nigeria
stands at seven . Five of them died in Lagos,
one in a private hospital, the index case, and the
other four in the isolation ward in Lagos State.
“Two of the seven died in Port Harcourt, the
medical doctor who died in a private hospital and
the contact, a patient in the hospital at the time
the doctor was also on admission, who died in
the isolation ward in Rivers State.”
According to him, the total number of patients
who have been successfully managed and
discharged stands at nine.
He added that the latest was the sister (Chinyere)
of the late Port Harcourt doctor who was
discharged from the isolation ward in Rivers State
on Sunday.
“It should be noted that the nine patients
successfully managed and discharged are among
the total number of 11 survivors of EVD in Nigeria.
At the moment, only one person, the wife of the
late Port Harcourt doctor, is on treatment at the
isolation ward in Lagos.
“She no longer has any symptoms and is
undergoing a series of tests preparatory to her
discharge from the isolation ward this week.
“Regarding contacts currently under surveillance,
Lagos has 27 contacts surveillance as of now. A
total of 339 contacts who were previously on
surveillance have been discharged having
completed the 21 days of observation. Port
Harcourt has 477 contacts under surveillance. It
is a mixed group consisting of tertiary and
quaternary contacts of Sawyer. Five contacts
have already been discharged from surveillance in
Port Harcourt having completed the 21 days of
observation.”
In Port Harcourt, the Health commissioner, Parker,
also confirmed that Chinyere had been
discharged. But as journalists expressed joy over
Chinyere’s recovery, he announced that an 18
month-old baby, who showed symptoms of Ebola
had been quarantined for observation.
The commissioner however did not provide further
information as he returned to Chinyere’s recovery
and discharge.
“I am cheerful today because we have
successfully treated an Ebola patient. She
(Chinyere) has been effectively treated, cleared
and discharged from our isolation treatment
centre. She deserves to be celebrated as a
success story,” he said.
Parker, who explained that the state government
had reached about 479 contacts, said, “I can
assure you that the disease has been covered.
People should not cause panic. The number of
deaths from Ebola is lower than deaths from road
accidents.”
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