20 students currently writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Bayelsa state have contracted Coronavirus.
The Nation reports that this was disclosed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Inodu Apoku, during a meeting of Covid-19 Task Force at Government House, Yenagoa.
Apoku said the 20 positive cases were among 600 candidates writing the examinations in the state that were screened.
However, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has called on WASSCE candidates infected with the Covid-19 not to panic, saying “the virus is not a death sentence”.
The head of the examination council in Nigeria, Patrick Areghan stated this on Wednesday at the end of a monitoring visit to the Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja.
“I want to assure you and the Nigerians that anywhere we have Covid-19 candidate, we make sure that he or she writes the examinations. It is not a death sentence, there is no stigma. We don’t want anybody to miss the exams. It’s no fault of theirs. We can defeat this disease provided we take first-line responsibility,” he said.