Ebonyi schools shut down over Lassa fever outbreak

The Ebonyi government on Thursday ordered the closure of all public and private schools to check the spread of Lassa fever that broke out in the state.

John Eke, the commissioner for education, told NAN that the closure was part of proactive steps taken to contain the spread of the disease in the state.

According to him, the government embarked on the measure to effectively control and contain the spread of the dreaded Lassa virus which had claimed some lives including two medical doctors.

The commissioner, however, said the Lassa outbreak in the state was not alarming, but noted that the closure of schools was done to check the disease spreading into schools.

Eke said: “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.”