Accra, Feb. 28, GNA – The government has been urged to send specially trained doctors and nurses together with the required logistics to the ports, to identify and quarantine any person returning to the country, showing symptoms of the flu-like coronavirus disease.
The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) said there was an urgent need to beef up the port health workers.
This comes amid World Health Organisation (WHO’s) upgrade of the global risk from the virus to the highest level.
Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s Director of Health Emergencies, says, the global risk level of "very high" is the highest alert the organisation can declare.
He said earlier that it would be "unhelpful" to declare a pandemic when the world was still trying to contain the virus.
"If we say there's a pandemic of coronavirus we're essentially accepting that every human on the planet will be exposed to that virus. The data does not support that as yet."
The GRNMA in a press statement, signed by its General Secretary, David Tentorang-Twum, asked that an attractive insurance cover and compensatory scheme should be put in place for the special taskforce – those who would be doing the contact tracing and transport suspected infected individuals to well-resourced health centres to deal with such cases.
Additionally, adequate protective clothing and disinfectants should be provided to health workers at the designated centres.
The Association - the largest frontline health care provider, applauded the government for strictly following the WHO's precautionary recommendation on evacuation despite calls by some sections of society to do otherwise.
It said “the support extended to students and the Ghanaian community based in Wuhan and other province hardly hit by the blight is so far encouraging”.
Ghana is classified among 13 Priority-1 countries in WHO Africa region at risk, based on flights and passenger volumes and the GRNMA said stringent measures needed to be put in place at the various entry points, to safeguard the country.
Nigeria has confirmed its first case of the COVID-19, as the virus which originated in Wuhan, China, continues to spread to more countries.
An Italian man, who arrived in the populous West African country, this week, tested positive to the infection at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
The patient, is reported by the Federal Health Authorities to be clinically stable, with no serious symptoms.
He is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
Mainland China, the epicentre of the virus, reported 327 new cases, the lowest since January 23, taking its tally to more than 78,800 cases with almost 2,800 deaths.
The number of countries outside China with infections, now stands at 55, where about 3,700 cases have killed about 70 people.
Countries other than China are accounting for about three-quarters of new infections.
Director General of World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called for all nations to prepare – up their emergency response.
“This virus has pandemic potential,” he said in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday. This is not a time for fear. This is a time for taking action to prevent infection and save lives now.”
In addition to stockpiling medical supplies, governments have ordered schools shut and canceled big gatherings to try to halt the spread of the virus.
GNA
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