Some student leaders of the University of Ghana, Legon are protesting attempts by University Management to vacate students without screening them for coronavirus.
Their call follows reports that one of the nine COVID-19 cases recorded in Ghana was detected in a student of the university.
The school has given students up till 4 pm on Saturday, March 21 to vacate the school.
The school has, however, directed students who have flu-like symptoms to report to the students’ clinic before exiting campus.
But the President Junior Common Room of the Alexander Adum Kwapong hall, Divine Edem Kwadzodeh, believes there are some gaps in the directive.
Mr. Kwadzodeh, who is also the General Secretary for the National Union of Ghana Students, fears the vacation of students will increase the risk of the spread.
“There have been several reported cases where the victims are not showing symptoms so it may be the case that people may have come into contact with the infected student but they may not be showing signs or symptoms yet,” he noted.
On indications that the school’s halls of residence may be used to monitor persons who came into contact with the infected person, Mr. Kwadzodeh said there were better options like the University of Ghana Medical Centre.
“The University of Ghana Medical Centre, a very huge medical facility, lies just behind the halls of residence they are proposing… that is the best place to do it [monitor suspected].”
The university assured that it will take steps to sanitise any facility used to monitor persons on the contact tracing list.
Even before the government directed the halting of academic activities nationwide, the University of Ghana suspended lectures and banned non-residential students from coming to its campus.
Other tertiary institutions have also directed their students to vacate their various campuses.
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), for example, has asked all students except foreign ones to vacate the campus by close of Friday, March 20.
