Bright Appiah
Child Rights International (CRI), a non-governmental organisation, on Thursday said the shutting down of schools should be based on medical evidence.
A statement signed by Executive Director of CRI, Bright Appiah, said calls by political actors among others to close down schools following recorded cases of COVID-19 in some cases must not be the basis to take such action.
It said the Ghana Health Service, in its daily data, must report on the trend of COVID-19 among the students to inform policy directions and decisions.
Studies conducted elsewhere showed that the transmission of the virus among age cohort 20 years and below was slow as compared to the vulnerable group, the statement said.
“Immunologists must establish the rate of infection among children to establish the reproductive rate of the virus. These conditions are crucial in order to take a decision that is evidence-based.”
It said the CRI was proposing to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to enhance security and protection to affected schools.
It urged the school authorities to connect and constantly update the parents of children who had tested positive to keep them calm.
The statement called on the GES and GHS to provide a general exit mechanism for integrating children who were in school when they complete their exams.
It appealed to parents to practice COVID-19 safety protocols with their children.