Lassa Fever Outbreak: Ebonyi Govt. Closes Schools

Ebonyi State Government, has today, Thursday, directed the closure of  all public and private schools in the state to investigate the spread of Lassa fever that recently broke out in the state.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof. John Eke speaking in Abakaliki said the closure was part of proactive measures to curb the spread of the disease in Ebonyi which had resulted in the death of some residents.

However, Eke dis not express surprise at the Lassa out break, but stated that hat the closure of schools was done to check the disease spreading into schools.

“First of all, I want to inform you that the issue of the outbreak of the lassa disease is not in alarming rate, and what we have done is to ensure that we effectively put the spread under control.

“Again, a women yesterday (Wednesday, Jan 17), was diagnosed positive of the virus and this patient has her children in schools.

“We believe that one of the best ways to handle the situation is to shut down our schools until we are sure that our pupils and students are safe.

 “The schools will remain shut for seven school days to enable us monitor the situation and we appeal to parents, guardians and school authorities to comply with the directive, “ Eke said.