The threat of an Ebola outbreak in the country has forced some international schools in the country to adopt measures to keep the disease at bay. Two schools—the Ghana International School (GIS) and the Galaxy International School, both in Accra are not taking chances with Ebola and cholera.
At the GIS, the first sign of awareness on the campus is a banner that reads “Be Ebola Aware. Cholera is also on the Rise. Be informed.”
The banner also encouraged students to read the notices put around and follow the directives provided.
The GIS currently has 1,410 students from 53 countries.
GIS measures
The school has also installed hand sanitizers at vantage points for the use of students and teachers.
Additionally, the school is constructing an isolation centre which a Deputy Principal of the school, Dr Mary Ashun, said would be used to quarantine persons with suspected symptoms of the disease before they were taken to hospital.
Even before the Daily Graphic team was granted an interview, the school’s nurse used a non-contact inflared body thermometer to screen the team before the interview.
Dr Ashun said: “This is an example of the kind of technology we are trying to employ here at GIS. It does not require us to touch the person. For obvious reasons, we are trying as much as possible to be safe in that regard.”
She, however, said though the school was prepared, it was still creating awareness among students and emphasising hand washing.
With Senegal recording its first Ebola case through a Senegalese university student who studies in Guinea, serious concerns have been raised about the need to ensure that international students do not become vehicles for the transmission of the disease.
In that respect, Dr Ashun said the students were encouraged to disclose if they had travelled to any of the Ebola affected countries or had visitors from any such countries.
She said if that was reported, the school would not isolate the student but put it on record and if any situation cropped up, it could fall on those records.
“A lot of pain was taken to ensure that the children understood that there is no harm letting us know where you’re coming from. We are here to protect you and everybody else.”
She indicated that the school was also educating the students on the need to avoid stigmatisation.
“We have a system that we are praying would work should a situation arise. We are hopeful that with the education we are giving to both students and teachers we shouldn’t get to that point.”
Personal water bottles
The school’s senior nurse, Ms Evelyn Setordji, for her part, said students had been advised to carry hand sanitizers and personal water bottles as cholera takes its toll on the country.
Apart from the three northern regions, more than 10,000 cholera cases have been recorded with close to 100 deaths so far.
At Galaxy, a hand sanitizers has been installed at the entrance of the school and every visitor is asked to use it before entering the school compound.
There was, however, no school official to talk to at the time of the visit.
