‘No COVID-19 case in Benue Varsity’

The management of Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, on Tuesday, said none of the institution’s members of staff tested positive for COVID-19.

Mr Tser Terzungwe, the Principal Assistant Registrar in the Information and Public Relations unit, made the disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen in Makurdi.

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Terzungwe was reacting to social media reports that some high profile staffers of the institution had tested positive for the virus.

The management had earlier directed the closure of the institution to allow for fumigation of the entire campus as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

He said that no member of staff of the institution had tested positive for the deadly virus.

“In the last 36 hours, the cyberspace, especially some social media blogs, have been awash with unconfirmed reports that very high number of BSU staff have been infected with the COVID-19 disease.

“It is very likely that these rumours may have been fired by the university authority’s decision on Monday, directing most non-teaching staff to stay at home.

“The truth of the matter is that all staff had been staying or working from home since March 20, when the Federal Government directed shutdown, in response to the COVID-19 challenge.

“After almost three months of the closure, and when it was imminent that the agitation might compel the government to direct institutions to reopen, BSU management directed the non-teaching staff to resume work on June 8, in anticipation of directives to reopen.

“However, on Monday, the Federal Government came out with guidelines for possible reopening of institutions of learning, which did not include universities and other institutions of higher learning.

“It is the unveiling of these guidelines and the non-inclusion of universities that made BSU management to issue another internal memo, directing all non-essential services staff to revert to the earlier directive of “work from home” or stay at home, as dictated by the COVID-19 protocols,” he explained.

Terzungwe further said that the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) and Professor of Medicine was member of the state COVID-19 Response Team.

”Therefore, the university will know if any staff tested positive for the virus,” the principal assistant registrar said.