Ghana’s number of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections has jumped from 27 to 52, Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, announced in Accra yesterday.
But at the time of going to press, the number had increased by one, bringing the total confirmed cases to 53.
The new 26 cases were results from some of the 1,030 passengers undergoing mandatory quarantine after arriving in the country hours before the deadline to the closure of Ghana’s borders on March 22.
As of the time of the presser, he said 611 samples have been collected for testing.
“Out of the 185 test results received, we have 25 of those quarantined tested positive. If you add on to the earlier number of 27, it means we have 52 tested positive in our country at the moment,” he stated.
He said the new cases would be handed over to the management teams and then taken to isolated centres for case management.
Already, Mr Agyeman-Manu
stated that psychologists have been deployed to assist those in quarantine to
deal with the associated stress.
“Those in quarantine, we have actually
deployed psychologists to have chats with them. We are also in the process of
handing them over to our case management teams we have set up. We have started
taking them to isolated centres for case management,” he added.
The Minister noted that persons who have already been tested negative but in mandatory quarantine would be kept until the full 14-day period before they are allowed to go to their various homes if they show no symptoms.
Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Badu Sarkodie, said, the Service has intensified tracing of persons who have come into contact with infected individuals adding that so far 598 contacts have been identified and they would be taken through the required protocols.
Chief Legal Advisor at the National Security Council Secretariat, Osei Bonsu Dickson, said the quarantine which was dubbed COVID Safety was part of measures to contain the spread of the disease.
Given the stress associated with being under quarantine, he said, the secretariat ensured comfortable accommodation was provided and called for co-operation from both citizens and persons being quarantined to curb possible spread of COVID-19.
Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, explained that, government imposed the current border restrictions and 14-day mandatory quarantine because it was determined that the greatest risk to Ghana in the management and containment of COVID-19 was the importation of cases.
He said government would continue to review measures, when necessary, to ensure the safety of every citizen and stop the spread of the virus in the country.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS