The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) received medical items from the Saint John’s Hospital and Fertility Centre in Accra yesterday to help them discharge their duties effectively without the fear of acquiring the COVID-19 virus.
The items included gloves, thermal guns, face mask, veronica buckets, disposable gowns and questionnaires among others.
Donating the items, the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Ms Maame Yaa Afriyie, said the gesture formed part of her outfit’s corporate social responsibility.
She noted that the healthcare needs of the immigration workers was paramount in times like these, thus assisted them with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to safeguard their lives and that of the immigrants.
Ms Afriyie stated that the thermal guns would detect the temperature levels of the immigrants to know their status.
“When the temperature of the person travelling is above 38 °C they will query the person to get more information whether he or she is coughing or sneezing to know the next step to take,” she added.
Receiving the items on behalf of the service, Mr Kwame Asuah Takyi, the Comptroller General of GIS, thanked the hospital for their kind gesture and said the donation had come at the right time.
He indicated that they were the frontline agency that dealt with both foreign nationals and natives, and underscored the need for them to be protected against the spread of the pandemic.
“We will dispatch the items to our officers at the borders and other parts of the country to help them do their job without fear and panic,” Mr Takyi added.
He observed that life was very fragile, thus appropriate measures were in place to ensure everyone was protected to help in the development of the nation.
Mr Takyi also announced that GIS was extending its clinic to deal with lots of immigrants, stressing that they had already submitted their budget to the government and staff would be trained on measures to deal with the situation.
BY JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE
