There is palpable fear among the students of the University of Lagos that the Senate of the institution may rise from its ongoing emergency meeting with an order to shut down the school.
The meeting started a little after 2pm, is taking place at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium of the school.
Sunrise News gathered that there had been rising apprehension in the school since weekend when fresh cases of the dreaded Coronavirus was said to have been detected among the students in some of the school hostels.
Matters came to a head on Monday, with the school authorities directing very strict compliance with the COVID-19 protocols including the use of face masks, hand washing and temperature checks.
The Senate also called an emergency meeting for 2pm Nigerian time and it is gathered that the Senate is to decide whether or not to shut down the school and ask the students to vacate the hostels to have the school fumigated.
“It should be a short meeting. We will be deciding if we should discontinue physical classes and whether the hostels should be shut and the students sent home,” a Professor who is a member of the Senate told our correspondent.
In apparent fear of the likely outcome, some students have already started leaving the hostels, while others are seen parking their belongings and ready to leave once a closure is announced.
UNILAG’s spokesperson, Nonye Oguama, said “no comment” when contacted on the telephone, but some students and workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said there has been palpable apprehension when some workers and students started testing positive to the disease in the last few days.
One of the students, who reside in one of the hostels on the university campus, said, “We are having many people falling sick with COVID-19 symptoms. We don’t know what is happening. Many of us have to start going home instead of sleeping in the hostel.”
Another student confirmed that her roommate tested positive and had been isolated.
“Yes, one of my roommates tested positive. After that, we (other roommates) went for the COVID-19 test but returned negative. People are saying that there is Delta variant on campus but I don’t know how true that is,” the undergraduate added.
The management of the university also confirmed that UNILAG medical centre has recorded an increase in the number of patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
It also confirmed that the institution is being affected by a potential third wave of coronavirus in a ‘COVID-19 pandemic update’ published on the university’s website on Tuesday.
The statement read, “The University of Lagos Medical Centre wishes to inform all members of the University of Lagos Community about what appears to be the start of a potential 3rd wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Lagos State.
“The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu, in his press statement issued on July 11, 2021, stated that since the beginning of July there has been a steep increase in the number of daily confirmed cases, with the test positivity rate going from 1.1% at the end of June 2021, to its current rate of 6.6% as at the 8th of July 2021. This is with a concurrent increase in the occupancy rate at Lagos State isolation centres.
“The University of Lagos community has also been affected by this potential 3rd wave, with an increase in the number of patients presented to the University of Lagos Medical Centre with flu-like symptoms which are similar to COVID-19.
“The Medical Centre hereby assures all members of the University community, that all necessary actions in line with the Federal and Lagos State Government guidelines have been taken regarding this potential threat in our community.
“The Medical Centre will also return to providing EMERGENCY ONLY SERVICES during this period, in order to protect all members of the community from potential infection within the facility. The Medical Centre Emergency Contact line: 09095879781 remains open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“Despite this threat to the return of normalcy, pursuit of education and daily livelihood, it has become imperative once more to judiciously adhere to the following COVID-19 guidelines and protocols in order to curb the spread of this disease.