Five members of staff and a student have tested positive for COVID-19 in a secondary school in Lagos State.

The Lagos State Government made this known in a statement on Friday.

The statement was titled, ‘Lagos confirms COVID_19 infection in secondary school’ and signed by

the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

It read in part, “Lagos State Government has confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in a secondary boarding school on the mainland.

“A member of the school’s staff was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 2nd of November.

“Contact tracing has revealed that a student and four contacts of the staff member are positive for COVID-19.

“The staff member fell ill for a few days and received first aid at the school clinic. She subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday 2nd of November at the Lagos State Biobank.”

The commissioner assured members of the public and stakeholders of the school that “the situation is completely under control”, adding that the Lagos State COVID-19 Incident Command System has begun an investigation into the incident.

He said, “Steps are being taken to contain the spread within the school and reduce exposure to the outside community. All parents are being contacted first through the PTA and a family zoom call is being arranged to further allay their fears.

“Students who test positive are to be isolated in the school premises and, if unwell, will be admitted to one of the accredited isolation centers in Lagos. Students are discouraged from going home to avoid infecting members of their families.

“Members of the Emergency Operation Center Lagos, NCDC and our counterparts in the Ministry of Education have been deployed in the school to provide strategic interventions and support. These include psychosocial support, infection prevention control, medical monitoring and risk communication experts to further enlighten affected people.”

By Sodiq Oyeleke