By Samuel Ogenyi,Uyo
Always Ibom state government has said it would cut down on the number of hours students would be in School when schools are eventually allowed to reopen in the state.
It has said that it has also acquired snacks to feed students especially those from poor homes in School as a way of cutioning the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on their parents.
Governor Udom Emmanuel who made this known at a radio interactive programme in Uyo last weekend however said that the state government would defog all schools in the state before students are allowed to return to school.
”When schools reopen, we will limit the number of hours spent in school by the students, we will also minimize break-time that students will go out to drink water or take a drink. We are experimenting on a whole number of things to survive this COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let me also add that we have acquired a lot of soft drinks and biscuits that would be given to the student during those break time. The drinks and snacks are targeted mostly at the very poor students in the villages whose parents may not be able to provide them with good meal as they will be coming o
“We can’t keep our students at home. So we are setting up a mechanism to first de-fog the schools. So afterwards we’ll announce resumption of schools. We are beginning with the JSS3 & SS3. We are limiting it to them because they are examination classes which is not controlled by the state government.” Emmanuel explained.
The governor maintained that adequate care is been taken off patients with COVID-19 in all it’s isolation centres adding that the few deaths recorded were cases already in very bad conditions before they were brought into the isolation centres.
Government, he said would also step up testing as soon as the state’s second IPR centre is certified by the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.
“From the last time we were here on this programme, we have had an additional 4 deaths recorded in the state. It is not as if they all died in one day, but it is just because that is the time that NCDC decided to update their records. All those cases were brought in to our facilities when their conditions were very bad.
“I am glad to inform you that the state has activated the second PCR lab and it is 100% ready. We are only awaiting NCDC certification. So be rest assured that we will soon step up the testings in the state. We won’t wait for people to show symptoms.”
“We have taken delivery of 3 more containers of medical equipment. As I said, I want all the 10 Federal Constituencies to have a well equipped hospital. We have awarded work for that of lkot Abasi. All the other Constituencies have well equipped hospitals except Ikot Abasi and Ikot Ekpene. We are working on those two.” Emmanuel explained.
