The Ministry of Health (MoH) has selected the Ridge Hospital and the Tema General Hospital as centres to manage possible cases of coronavirus, should it be recorded in the country.
The move, according to a statement signed by the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, was part of Ghana’s plans to prevent and control any case that may be detected in the country.
It further indicated that regional directors had been instructed to designate holding/treatment centres in their respective regions.
“We are preparing to designate more centres in the highly populated areas of Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale. Case management teams to manage cases at the designated national centres are receiving orientation on the management of cases,” the ministry added.
The MoH said it had triggered the country’s emergency preparedness and response plan amidst the rising number of infections from the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in other parts of the world.
Following an earlier statement that all passengers from China must mandatorily fill health declaration forms, the MoH has now enhanced the process by applying it to all international arrivals at the Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
“Screening for fever using the walk-through thermometers and non-contact thermometers are ongoing at KIA and other points of entry. Efforts are underway to ensure that all points of entry have non-contact thermometers,” the ministry added.
Meanwhile, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIR) has indicated that it has the capacity to diagnose coronavirus infection and has since been designated as the laboratory for investigating the virus.
The ministry said it is closely collaborating with the World Health Organisation, Veterinary Services Department, Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research, the Centres for Disease Control & Prevention, among others, to execute the country’s emergency response plan.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri