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Health Minister to brief Parliament on Ghana’s readiness to handle coronavirus.

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, is scheduled to brief Parliament tomorrow on steps government is taking to safeguard Ghana against the deadly coronavirus. 

Mr Agyeman-Manu, the Dormaa Central Member of Parliament, was billed to attend upon the House last Friday, but that could not happen for unexplained reasons. 

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, briefing Parliament on the schedule for next week said all was set for the minister to brief the House tomorrow. 

Mr Agyeman-Manu’s statement would be a blueprint of how Ghana is positioning itself to fight the virus, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared as a global health emergency.  

The legislators, last Wednesday, called for increased awareness creation as the deadly coronavirus continue to spread from China.

In a statement, the Nabdam MP, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, said considering Ghana’s cultural norms and religious practices, such as suburban crowded settlements and relationships, it was important the Ministry of Health intensified public education on the virus. 

“Mr Speaker, resources from the Contingency Fund should be released to radio, television stations, newspapers and other methods of mass communication to carry out intensive education. 

“Mr Speaker, the earlier we start with the education, the better for all of us,” he said. 

Some MPs, however, allayed the fears of the citizenry, stressing that Ghana has the capacity to combat the virus should it find its way into Ghana. 

There is treatment for the deadly virus “just like any common cold and once you are diagnosed, there is treatment,” Dr Oko Boye, a medical doctor told the House in Accra on Wednesday. 

Ghana currently has two holding facilities to deal with any outbreak “so let us take precaution, including washing our hands, but education about the virus must be enhanced,” Dr Boye added. 

The coronavirus, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan on December 31, at the time of filling this report had killed at least 304 people with the number of cases reaching more than  8,000 globally, the World Health Organisation said.

The disease has spread to all regions in China, authorities there have said. 

With two cases confirmed in Africa – Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia – the deadly virus has spread to dozens of countries including the USA, the UK, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, UAE, France, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, South Korea, amongst others.

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI 

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