Abia confirms five fresh COVID-19 cases

Anambra targets 75,000 students through radio, TV teaching
The Abia State government yesterday confirmed new cases of coronavirus, as results of an undisclosed number of samples sent to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for tests returned five of them positive.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who announced this in Aba said the development brought the number of cases in the state so to seven, as two of them were confirmed on April 20 and were isolated for treatment.

Also, of the two earlier cases, one was discharged on May 1, while the other, a woman of above 70 years, was said to be responding to treatment, just as Ikpeazu disclosed that three of the five new cases came from Lagos and the two others have no travel history.

He said the state COVID-19 Rapid Response Team had commenced tracing those who may have had contacts with the cases said to be from Ofoeme, Aforguri and Olokoro communities near Umuahia.

He urged those that may have had contacts with the cases to report for screening and treatment, saying the state has capacity to handle about 170 cases at its isolation centre.

Ikpeazu added that the new cases had justified the state’s decision to close its borders and warned transporters against conveying persons across the borders.

Meanwhile, the teaching on-air radio and television programme on the Anambra Broadcasting Station (ABS) at the instance of the state government is targeted at about 75,000 secondary school students.

State Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha, who stated this in a radio programme on Ebeonadi 103.5 FM, monitored by The Guardian at the weekend, pointed out that the audio-visual education was aimed at keeping students busy at home due to schools closure since March 2020 occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said keeping students at home over a long period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic would make their brains dull, hence the online and on-air education programme.

Omenugha added that the programme was achieving its purpose of engaging the students to learn and ask questions, a situation, she said, had proved that the students were listening to the programme.

She also noted that given certain challenges, a greater number of the students have benefited from the online education programme, adding that teaching on-air was now a global fashion and that the ministry introduced giving of assignments, while the teachers left their Whatsapp numbers for further interaction with the students.