The Lagos State Government has requested that Queen’s College located in Yaba, Lagos be shut down indefinitely to enable the proper sanitisation and treatment of the water system in the school.
This advice followed the findings of the State Ministry of Health after tests carried out on the school’s water sources showed that the entire water supply in the college was “polluted.”
The State Commissioner of Health, Dr Jide Idris, while addressing journalists on Thursday, revealed that health records from the school’s sick bay indicated that a total of 1,222 pupils visited the school’s clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
“According to the commissioner, recommendation (for the suspension of resumption) is necessary to ensure that all the sources of contaminants in the school, which had been causing the death of students, are properly handled,” a statement from the health ministry read.
Mr. Idris also revealed that test results from the six water sources in the school, collected and analysed by the Drug Quality Control Laboratory of the Lagos State Ministry of Health showed that the water was contaminated with bacteria ranging from Coliforms, Esherichia Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella Ozoana and Aeromonas Hydrophila.
It would recalled that several boarding pupils of the school were admitted into the school’s sickbay shortly after eating spaghetti and drinking water in the refectory.
After drinking the contaminated water, two of the pupils namely Vivian Osuiniyi and Bithia Itulua, lost their lives on February 23 and 24 2017 after prolonged vomiting and stooling. The incident led to the temporary closure of the school by its management.
Some parents in the school, especially those of the affected students, have threatened legal action while calling for a sanction of the school management for their inability to prevent the outbreak of the epidemic.
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