The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Badu-Sarkodie, has lauded government for committing $100 million to enhance Ghana’s coronavirus preparedness and response plan.
The move, he believes will help government fight against coronavirus in case it breaks in Ghana.
Speaking on the AM Drive on Atinka 104.7 FM, hosted by Ekourba Gyasi, Dr Badu-Sarkodie, said some of the money will be used for screening at the points of entry while some is used for laboratory test and other things.
He added that all the big hospitals in the country will be assigned as treatment centres.
Dr Badu-Sarkodie then called on the public to imbibe basic hygienic practices to help prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.
He also stated that government’s decision to ban public officials from traveling outside the country is a laudable idea.
Background:
This amount, according to President Akufo-Addo, “is to fund expansion of infrastructure, purchase of materials and equipment, and public education.”
He explained that, with the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the Coronavirus disease as “a pandemic”, it is important that Ghana steps up her preparedness to ensure that, beyond the initial measures that have been put in place, a ‘whole of Ghana’ approach is adopted in preparation for a possible hit within the country’s borders.
Already, all of Ghana’s immediate neighbours, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo, have recorded confirmed cases of infections, and countries like Italy, where there is a large population of Ghanaians, have escalated their response to the outbreak.
According to the President, Ghana’s entry points, such as her airports and land borders, continue to show satisfactory preparedness to screen all entrants into the country, with the Ministry of Health designating a quarantine facility that can hold infected persons, whilst regional hospitals are preparing isolation centres for holding suspected cases.
“Our country’s two main research institutions, the Noguchi Memorial Institute and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, which have the capacity to investigate and confirm or otherwise suspected cases of Coronavirus infections, have been very supportive in this regard. So far, they have found that the fifty-seven (57) suspected cases, as of today, Wednesday, 11th March, have proved negative,” he said.
Meanwhile, he has ordered a suspension of all international travels by public officials, except for critical assignments.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Frank Eshun
