Zoomlion Ghana Limited has disinfected a total of 823 Junior and Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Upper West Region ahead of the reopening of second year students of the two levels on October 5th.

The exercise, which formed part of efforts against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is targeted at ensuring safety across the various schools as the students return to their respective schools to continue academic work.

Addressing the media after the disinfection exercise, Mr Emmanuel Volsuuri, the Regional General Manager for the Upper West Region, noted that the concentration was on the high risk facilities and frequently touched surfaces.

“We want to ensure that any potential virus or bacteria is deactivated before the students return to school”, he said.

Mr Volsuuri noted that one major challenge of the exercise was the difficulty in accessing schools in remote communities due to the rains.

The Regional General Manager noted that they would use motor bikes to access unmotorable areas to ensure that every school was covered in the disinfection exercise.

Mr Volsuuri said the disinfections all over the world were not a permanent solution for eradicating COVID-19, adding that, it was just an additional preventive measure.

He, appealed to the students and school authorities to ensure strict adherence to other protocols such as frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, wearing of nose masks, and social distancing.

Mr Abubakari Amin, Senior House Master for Wa Islamic SHS lauded the exercise and said it would help ensure the safety of 750 students they were expecting to return to school.

He noted that the school had already taken delivery of veronica buckets from the government and was expecting to receive nose masks and hand sanitizers before the reopening date in October.

Mr Amin noted that hand washing facilities would be placed at the school’s main gate on the date of reopening where students would wash and sanitize their hands before entering the campus.

Mr Suglo Benjamin, Headteacher of Busa Tendamba JHS said the disinfection exercise gave them confidence that the school was safe for students to return.

He, however, wished it could be carried out on a quarterly basis to ensure continued safety at the various schools.