It was such a relief that the causative agent for the KUMACA deaths has been isolated. What for days, if not weeks, has kept us on tenterhooks is now out of the bag.
Those whose efforts eventually led to the discovery deserve pats on the back for a job well done. The isolation though a critical aspect of fighting the contagion is by no means the end of it all.
It is worrying that in spite of the efforts of the health and school authorities to stop the students from going home, some definitely managed to get out of the confinement with the connivance of parents.
As to the number who did so, only the school authorities can disclose this detail. Arrangements should be made to identify such students and to ensure that they and members of their families who came in contact with them are examined to isolate infection possibilities.
We are definitely dealing with a precarious situation and so we must all contribute to arriving at a solution which would be in the interest of the whole country.
If the disease is contagious, as we are told, it stands to reason that many persons would have already been infected. In the light of this, a general examination of persons suspected to have gotten in touch with the students must be carried out.
We cannot take things for granted given the killer quality of this disease. Those who in the early stages of the outbreak considered the shutting down of the school would now appreciate the wisdom in not going in that direction because the disease would have spread across the Garden City and eventually the country.
The authorities know better how to handle such challenges. Ours would be just chipping in a few yet important points which should come in handy at this time working to contain the disease from spreading. It is gratifying to learn about the involvement of the World Health Organisation in the scheme of things as this would expedite the action being taken in the direction of drug import and the like.
The possibility of some members of the public contracting the disease cannot be discounted because infected persons should have come in contact with others outside the school, especially, because the school has day students.
We would not be asking too much if we demand that Kumasi residents are tested for the virus. Otherwise a vaccination, if it is possible, should be administered on residents before the disease spreads.
Residents in the Garden City especially those leaving in the general area of the school must be tested for the disease. Should some of them test positive then there is trouble.
The health authorities and the rest of us should not rest on our oars until the all-clear signal is given to us by the relevant bodies.
It is important to educate members of the public about the subject under review especially  about the symptoms and the need to quickly consult a hospital when these present themselves.