Osun State government begins fumigation of schools ahead of students’ resumption

Redeemers varsity partners Cambridge on production of COVID-19 vaccine
Following the recent directive by the Federal Government on partial reopening of schools for the conduct of various national and sub-regional examinations, Osun State government has commenced fumigation of 188 registered public and private schools in the state.

The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Sola Oladepo, told journalists yesterday that the fumigation of schools had begun and sought for co-operation of both the public and registered private schools in the state.

Oladepo said that the fumigation would be done in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) standard, adding that unauthorised fumigation would not be allowed.

The commissioner therefore urged proprietors of private schools to co-operate with the state government by following the guidelines given by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on COVID-19 pandemic.

MEANWHILE, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), located at Redeemers University in Ede, Osun State, has said that it is collaborating with Cambridge University in the United Kingdom (UK) to produce a vaccine against COVID-19.

The ACEGID confirmed the diagnosis of the first case of Ebola virus in Nigeria in 2014 and worked closely with health authorities for the successful containment of the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria.

The Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr. Suleiman Ramon-Yusu, disclosed this yesterday at a press conference to announce the ongoing contributions of Nigerian universities to the national response to COVID-19.

He also noted that the institution used next generation sequencing technology to perform the first sequence of the new SARS-CoV-2 in Africa within 48 hours of receiving a sample of the first case in Nigeria.

Ramon-Yusu stressed the need for Nigeria to develop homegrown capabilities in the production and manufacture of most of the basic medical and pharmaceutical products, such as PPEs, WASH accessories and ventilators.