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Wa records first confirmed COVID-19 case

The Upper West has become the third region in the country to record a coronavirus case. 

The patient, a 42-year-old man is said to have returned to the region eight days ago after travelling to the United States of America and Spain. 

Briefing the media on Friday, the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih stated that the results were received on Friday afternoon from the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research where the test was conducted.

“The good thing is that even before the test came out positive the suspect was on self-quarantine. Therefore health authorities will take it up from there, visit him and administer the necessary protocol to him,” he stated.

He urged residents not to panic, stating that the Regional Public Health and Emergency Management Committee together with the Ghana Health Service would handle the situation to make sure it did not escalate.

“I therefore want to use the opportunity to entreat all and sundry to strictly adhere to the precautionary measures. Continue to wash your hands regularly, where necessary apply hand sanitisers, cough into a tissue or cover your mouth with a handkerchief and dispose off into a dust bin immediately,” he advised.

Dr Salih also advised residents to practise social distancing, saying it was residents’ duty to protect themselves at the personal level whereas government on its part provide the necessary and required measures to fight the deadly disease.

He called for the support of all and sundry and appealed to capable indigenes of the region to come to the aid of the people and support them with whatever they could afford to promote prevention of the spread of the virus.

For his part, the Regional Director for Health Services, Dr Osei Kuffour Afreh hinted that the patient was stable and had been briefed about his status.

He indicated that a list of activities which included contact tracing with the help of the client would be carried out to identify and examine all contacts as soon as possible.

Dr Afreh announced that the region had taken delivery of its personal protective equipment for staff in the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, adding that other measures were being put in place to combat the virus.

“A team from the region went for training to become master trainers and act as the rapid repose team. This group will in turn return to the region and train the municipal and district teams from Monday. We keep reviewing the measures to ensure that the region was up to the task of combating the COVID-19,” he added. 

FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA

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