The Nigerian Medical Association on
Monday faulted the Federal Government’s directive to schools to resume
on September 22 as against October 12.
“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.”
