Resumption: Ogun orders SS3 students to take compulsory COVID-19, Malaria tests

The Ogun State Government has ordered all SS 3 boarding students in the state to take COVID-19 and malaria tests before they will be admitted into their various hostels.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary and Secondary Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, said the State Ministry of Health had already made provisions for the students to take the tests, as part of the conditions for the re-opening of schools in Ogun.

According to her, the exercise which began on July 31 and would end on August 3, adding that the exercise was ongoing at three public health care facilities in the state.

They include ‘The 250 MTR’ – a white edifice opposite the State Secretariat in the Okemosan area of Abeokuta, the state capital.

The other two facilities are the Ogun State General Hospital in Ado-Odo Ota and the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu.

She said the tests of the students were part of the frantic efforts of the state government to ensure a safe learning academic atmosphere for both learners and teachers in all public and private schools.

Soyombo said all principals of private and public schools had been asked to enforce the directive of the government which was in line with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“All the returning boarding students are to stay in the school hostels only. Parents are hereby advised that private hostels are exempted from accommodating students during this period to ensure strict compliance with NCDC directives,” she stated.