The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says 33 suspected cases of coronavirus in Ghana have all tested negative.
One case, however, is still being tested, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Aboagye said on the Point of View on Monday.
“So far we’ve tested about 33 cases. All have proved negative. One case is being tested… All the tests were done here [in Ghana]. The tests are 100 percent sure. We have the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR)… For now, the two are enough,” he said.
The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service have announced various measures to prevent the virus and contain it should there be a reported case.
At the Airport, people arriving in the country are made to fill a declaration form that is used to determine their risk factors in terms of exposure to areas that have recorded cases of coronavirus.
Patrick Aboagye indicated that follow-up checks are made on all such contacts to ascertain whether or not they will show symptoms of the disease.
Coronavirus in Africa
The first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was recorded on 14th February 2020 in Egypt.
Senegal and Nigeria have both confirmed one case each.
So far more than 90,000 cases have been confirmed while about 3,110 others have died from the novel coronavirus.
Maintain personal hygiene
Meanwhile, the government has urged the public to maintain good personal hygiene to ensure that an outbreak of the disease is prevented.
The common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
People are also urged to avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
