The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) have directed that the prestigious Achimota School in Accra should be locked down for the next two weeks.
Per the directive to the School’s authorities, no one will be allowed in or out of the school.
“We are not going to allow any visitation in the school for the next two weeks. The day students are going to be kept at home for the next two weeks, while those who are positive are going to be kept in isolation,†Director of Public Health at GHS Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, explained the directive to Accra-based Joy FM.
The move by the education agencies follows the detection of the fast-spreader Delta variant of COVID-19 among some infected students.
Some 135 students tested positive for the new variant although 89 have been found to have recovered.
Authorities were alerted by the outbreak of the viral disease in the school after three students were taken ill between Monday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 16 for influenza-like symptoms.
But this later turned out to be COVID-19.
As of Saturday, July 3, 843 students and staff had been sampled.
Among these, 348 are boarding students, 459 are day students and 36 teaching and non-teaching staff.
According to the GHS, results available for 550 samples indicated that the total positive was 135 with 293 pending as of Saturday, July 3 and the rest negative.
That same day samples of more day students were taken.