The Information Minister, Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has entreated the media to respect the protocols put in place to manage coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, to avoid creating unnecessary fear and panic in the country.
This comes amid confirmation of Ghana’s first two COVID-19 cases.
The two patients have been quarantined to prevent the spread of the flu-like virus.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, speaking in an interview, said the Emergency Operating Team, set up by the health authorities, had begun contact tracing of all persons who had had engagements with the pair since their arrival in the country a week ago.
One of the infected persons is a Ghanaian, who works in Turkey, and the other, a Norwegian.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said in view of the latest development, the government would be making an announcement on travel restrictions to countries with the confirmed cases in due course.
Commenting on the US$100 million earmarked to fight the disease, the Minister said it would use be used to procure equipment and logistics such as nose masks, respiratory devices, purchase test kits, create isolation centres, among others.
“We will scale up the availability of isolation centres and quarantine centres beyond what we have now and procure more respiratory devices to help those who might have difficulty in breathing”, he added
The Minister advised anyone showing symptoms of the virus to quickly contact the COVID-19 hotlines for assistance.
Travelers arriving at the Kotoka International Airport from any trip abroad should provide accurate information to assist the Emergency Operating Team to easily trace them.
He said there were emergency ambulances on standby to pick those who called the COVID-19 hotlines from their homes to the isolation centres.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah urged everybody to observe the preventive measures issued by the health authorities – regular washing of hands with soap under running water, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, avoid shaking of hands, keeping a distance of two metres from persons with fever, cough, sneezing and difficulty in breathing.
It was good to drink plenty water, to eat healthy food and to have enough sleep.
The Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health have held stakeholder engagements with points of entry staff – the Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to sensitise and strengthen their preparedness and surveillance on the flu-like disease.
The GACL staff were sensitised to case detection, infection prevention and control to ensure that passengers arriving at the airport were screened using thermal scanning devices and filled a health detention form.
The GHS and the MoH have activated the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) and alerts sent to all regions to activate Public Health Emergency Management Committees to initiate preparedness activities and enhanced surveillance for the disease.
Ghana has so far tested 66 suspected cases of coronavirus at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research out of which two had proven positive.
The disease since it was reported in late last year in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China has spread to 120 countries and territories with 118,000 reported cases and about 4000 deaths.
Symptoms of virus include; fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing which could be fatal.
The disease is spread through coughing and sneezing; close personal unprotected touching or contact with infected person.
Presently, various treatment options are being explored, there is no cure. Treatment is mainly symptomatic, there is no vaccine and prevention is mainly by adherence to cough and sneezing etiquette and improved personal hygiene.
