By Elesha George
The high winds that have been impacting the twin island have played a role in exacerbating a flea infestation on the compound of Clare Hall Secondary School (CHSS), which in turn has caused the Ministry of Education to suspend sessions there until next week.
CHSS Principal Ashworth Azille told OBSERVER media that because of the high winds, workers from the Central Board of Health (CBH) could not immediately remedy the pest infestation, as they were unable to effectively administer treatment to the affected area.
“We started to notice the presence of the fleas last week, so internally we made contact with the Central Board of Health as well as the authorities at the Dog Control in an effort to remove the stray dogs that are often present on the campus in the evenings and to have the area fumigated for the fleas,” the principal explained, adding that when they spoke with the officials last week the fleas were contained to the southern end of the campus.
That section consists of wooden buildings which currently house the school’s business lab, physical education lab, music room and its book room.
However, Azille said that when staff and students returned to school on Monday, January, 13th, 2020, the fleas had already made their way up to the office area, and so classes had to be cancelled that day. On Tuesday morning, again, classes were called off.
“We noticed that the fleas had in fact moved to other areas of the school where students and teachers were now being affected seriously,” he toldOBSERVER media yesterday.
The school has been plagued by stray dogs for a quite a while, Azille said.
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