Zoomlion disinfects 140 2nd-cycle schools in E/R

Zoomlion Ghana Limited has started disinfecting a total of 140 senior high and vocational schools in all the 33 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Eastern Region.

The exercise, done in collaboration with the government and the Ghana Education Service, was the third phase of the disinfection exercises already done by the company as part of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and all other viruses in the schools.

Offices, washrooms, dormitories and dining halls, among other facilities, were disinfected.

Some of the schools which were disinfected were Aburi Girls Senior High School (SHS), Ghana SHS, New Juaben SHS, Pope John’s SHS, Koforidua Secondary Technical and St Paul’s Technical schools.

A Communication Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mr Jephthah Tetteh, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times during the exercise, explained it was in connection with the directives given by the President for SHS students to return to school next month.

“Zoomlion has been contracted by the government to disinfect the schools before the students come in so they would be protected from all viruses and infections,” he said.

He added that the exercise would take a week to complete in all schools in the region, expressing the hope that at the end of the exercise, students would have a virus-free environment to live in and study.

He said after the exercise, Zoomlion would also disinfect all junior high schools in the region.

The Assistant Headmaster in charge of Academics of Ghana SHS, Mr Fredrick Owusu, said he was grateful to the government and Zoomlion Ghana for the exercise.

“We do not want students to come in here and get infected, hence this exercise is very important to ensure a safe environment for both teachers and students,” he said.

Mr Owusu stated that as part of measures taken by the school to curb the spread of the coronavirus, “we have also procured a lot of Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers among other personal protective equipment to complement what we have been given by the government.”

He assured the public that management of the school would do its best to ensure that both teachers and students followed the slated protocols to stop the spread of the virus.

The Headmaster of Koforidua Senior High and Technical School, Mr Thomas Kwame Okyere, stated that the exercise had been very effective, adding, “it has psyched us up, especially students who would feel safe and secured, considering it that the disinfection exercise has been done”.

He said the government had been very proactive in efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 and gave the assurance that the school management would also do its best to ensure that all safety protocols were strictly adhered to.

FROM AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN, KOFORIDUA