20 WASSCE Candidates Test Positive for Coronavirus in Bayelsa

Not less than 20 students writing West African Senior School Certificate Examinations in Akwa Ibom have tested positive for COVID-19.

While disclosing this on Thursday August 27, 2020, the Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa State Ministry of Health, Inodu Apoku, said 20 students have tested positive for the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Apoku stated that the 20 positive cases were among 600 candidates writing the WAEC in the state.

Mr Apoku, the official at the Bayelsa health ministry, said it was the safety measures put in place to check the contagion that aided the discovery of the 20 positive cases.

A recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO) had cautioned governments on ensuring full safety protocols before reopening schools.

It warned that 43 per cent of schools around the world lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water in 2019 – a key condition for schools to be able to operate safely in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nigeria has recorded over 53, 000 coronavirus cases leading to the death of more than 1, 000 people in the country.