The Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region has recorded seven index cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.
The cases involve people who travelled into the municipality from Kumasi and Accra during the three-week partial lockdown imposed on those areas by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The seven were among 11 new cases recorded by the region on May 3, 2020, after the travellers were made to undergo mandatory screening alongside others at a surveillance post that was mounted to screen them before they were allowed to enter the area.
A statement issued by the Upper West Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and copied to the Ghanaian Times said, five of the seven persons who were in self isolation had been identified and transferred to a treatment centre at Tumu, the capital of the municipality, for treatment, whilst efforts were being made to trace the other two for them to commence treatment.
The other four persons, the statement noted, included three contacts of the Nigerian patient who escaped isolation and a resident who had returned to the region from Kenya in February before the borders were closed.
The statement said that the 11 cases, which were being managed in the region had increased the region’s tally to 19 with one recovered case.
“Investigations are underway to identify, isolate, manage and treat remaining infected persons as well as contacts of all the cases that had been recorded,” the statement said.
On meningitis, it revealed that 30 new cases had been recorded within the last two weeks, whereas one person had died from the disease, bringing the case count to 303 with 44 deaths.
Majority of the cases, as noted by the statement, were recorded in Nadowli-Kaleo, Jirapa and the Nandom Districts, and were caused by the Neisseria meningitis of the Sero type X.
It said with the increase in education and sensitisation, patients with meningitis symptoms have started reporting early to the heath facilities for case detection and treatment, adding that the move had resulted in a reduction in the number of fatalities over the last two weeks.
The statement urged all residents to remain calm and collaborate with the relevant authorities in charge of managing the diseases, and to also adhere strictly to all the safety protocols, with emphasis on regular washing of hands with soap under running water.
It added that the RCC would continue to work collaboratively with the health directorate and other institutions within the Regional Public Health Emergency Management Committee to ensure that both diseases were contained and managed successfully to avert preventable deaths.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
