This year’s theme for celebration is ‘Agribusiness Development under COVID-19 – Opportunity and Challenges.”
The Ahanta West Municipal Assembly Held it version of the National Farmers Day Celebration at Mpayinasa andit was a well attended event.
The GrEEn project supports youth, women and returning migrants in creating jobs and supporting businesses in a time COVID is impacting hard on local economies. The GrEEn project trains Youth on how to contributes to climate resilient economies, which can withstand and reduce climate impact on the short and long term; this is essential to community well-being now and later.”
The Ghana Highways Authority is set to finally begin repair works on the APREMDO BRIDGE and the EWUSIEJOE BRIDGES this weekend with the following repair plan
Users of these bridges are to pay attention to this development and move accordingly.
I thank you for welcoming me into your homes for the sixteenth (16th) time, as the fight to defeat COVID-19 continues not only in Ghana, but across the world. Day-in-day-out, countries, including our own, institute measures to try to limit and contain the spread of the virus, and return lives to normalcy. Some of these measures have been successful, others have not worked, with some countries now experiencing hikes in infection rates, and the emergence of what is referred to as a ‘second wave’ of the virus.
With the effectiveness of Government policies, the co-operation of you, the Ghanaian people, and by the grace of God, our nation has been relatively spared such unwelcome developments. Indeed, since 31st May, when Government decided to embark on a strategic, controlled, progressive, and safe easing of restrictions in the country, so as to get our lives and economy back to normal in safety, we have continued to witness low hospitalisation and low death rates.
The number of active cases continues to be on the decline. At the time of my last address, two weeks ago, the total number of active cases, that is persons currently with the virus, stood at one thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven (1,847) persons. As at Friday, 28th August, the number of active cases has reduced to one thousand, and fifty-nine (1,059) persons. A total of forty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three (42,963) persons have recovered, and two hundred and seventy-six (276) persons, a great majority of them with underlying illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes and chronic liver disease, have sadly died.
In as much as these statistics are encouraging, in contrast to what is pertaining in several countries across the world, we cannot afford to let our guard down. We have to maintain, in a state of constant readiness, the enhanced infrastructure and expertise we have built during the period of the virus to cope with it. I have been reliably informed that, in some regions of our country where there are no active cases, some residents are abandoning, altogether, the protocols, such as the wearing of masks, put in place to defeat the virus. Indeed, the high compliance rate with mask wearing of persons surveyed by the Ghana Health Service in some selected areas of Accra, to which I referred optimistically in my last address, has, according to a new survey by the same Service, fallen alarmingly. This is not acceptable, as the enhanced hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing protocols must now be central features of our lives, and they must continue to remain so for some time to come, until we see to the elimination of the virus from our country.
Let me remind those amongst us, who want to continue to disregard these protocols, that severe sanctions exist in our laws for such persons, who will want to endanger the rest of the population through their actions and negligence. The law enforcement agencies will, where necessary, apply these measures without fear or favour, ill-will or malice, and without recourse to a person’s ethnicity, gender or religion.
Fellow Ghanaians, in Update No.15, I announced the easing of restrictions in some areas of national life. I also indicated my hope that preparations and simulation exercises underway, including the installation of COVID-19 testing facilities at Kotoka International Airport, would give us a clear indication as to whether or not we could re-open the airport on 1st September. After weeks of thorough work, I am satisfied that it is safe to do so.
Fellow Ghanaians, I am glad to announce that Kotoka International Airport will reopen and resume operations from Tuesday, 1st September 2020. This decision has been communicated to international airlines.
It has been well-established that the very first cases of COVID-19 in Ghana were imported into our shores. We are determined to make sure this scenario does not recur. The commitment to ensuring that the gradual easing of restrictions, including the reopening of our airports, does not lead to the importation or resurgence of the virus into our country, is firmly in place. That is why the following measures have been taken and duly communicated to airlines wishing to resume flights to Ghana:
1. any passenger arriving in Ghana must be in possession of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin. The test should have been done not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin. All airlines have been instructed to ensure compliance with this directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana, and those airlines who fail in this regard will be duly sanctioned;
2. disembarking passengers must do so wearing face masks;
3. upon disembarking from the aeroplane, each passenger will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal, at a fee to be borne by the passenger. The test result will be available within thirty (30) minutes;
4. children under the ages of five (5) will not be required to undergo testing at the airport;
5. passengers, who test positive for COVID-19, will be handled by the health authorities for further clinical assessment and management; and
6. passengers, who test negative, can, thereupon, enter Ghana to go about their lawful activities, and will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions during their stay in Ghana.
The Ministries of Information, Health and Aviation, and their respective agencies – the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd., and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority – will spell out in further detail the protocols surrounding the re-opening of our international airport, and the procedures to be adhered to by passengers arriving in Ghana at the COVID-19 media briefing tomorrow, Monday, 31st August. For the avoidance of doubt, our borders, by land and sea, will continue to remain closed to human traffic until further notice.
Fellow Ghanaians, I will now address the question of the re-opening of our schools. With continuing students in the University of Cape Coast, the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Technical Universities, and some other Colleges returning to school almost a week ago, to finish their academic year, the decision has been taken by the Ghana Education Service, after consultation with the relevant stakeholders, for SHS 2 and JHS 2 students to return to school from 5th October to 14th December 2020 to complete their academic year.
With Junior High Schools operating with class sizes of thirty (30), and Senior High Schools with class sizes of twenty-five (25), SHS 2 and JHS 2 students will be in school for ten (10) weeks to study, and write their end of term examinations. SHS 2 students in boarding houses are to return to their various dormitories on 5th October, whilst day students, respecting fully the COVID-19 protocols, will commute from home to their respective schools on the same date. Prior to reopening, all Junior and Senior High Schools will be fumigated and disinfected. Just as was done in the case of final year university, JHS and SHS students, all JHS 2 and SHS 2 students, as well as all teaching and non-teaching staff, will be given reusable face masks. Each school will be provided with Veronica Buckets, gallons of liquid soap, rolls of tissue paper, thermometer guns, and 200 milli-litre containers of sanitizers. JHS 2 students will be given one hot meal a day.
Assemblies and sporting events remain banned; and the use by outsiders of school premises for other activities is still not allowed. We will continue to ensure that each school, which does not have its own sick bay, has been mapped to a health facility, and care is provided to the sick by nurses assigned to them.
The Ghana Education Service, after further consultations, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students. The next academic year will resume in January 2021, with appropriate adjustments made to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year. The relevant dispositions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in school of all streams of students, can occur in safety.
I appreciate fully the inconvenience and the financial burden the continued stay at home of children are posing to parents and guardians. Fellow Ghanaians, these are a necessary price to pay in our efforts to protect the lives of our children, as well as to limit and contain the spread of the virus in our country.
In the next couple of weeks, a decision will also be taken on the resumption of contact sports, including football, taking into consideration the imminent participation of our national teams in international competitions. As a known lover of football, I know how devastating its absence has been, and it is my hope that very soon we will all have the pleasure of playing and watching the beautiful game again. Until then, non-contact sports are the only sporting events permitted to take place. Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs are still to remain closed until further notice. All other institutions that have been cleared to function are to continue to do so in strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.
Fellow Ghanaians, the difficulties imposed on our everyday lives, and the impact COVID-19 has had on our livelihoods, must serve as sufficient motivation for us all to continue to adhere to the enhanced hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing protocols that must characterise our daily routines in this country. The more we adhere, the sooner we defeat the virus, and return to our normal way of life. I am confident that this can be soon. This challenge is not insurmountable. We can do it. We have it in us to surmount any challenge if we put our hearts and minds to it. Whilst at it, let us continue to pray to Almighty God to keep a benevolent eye on us, and keep us from harm.
This too shall pass! For the Battle is the Lords.
May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.
Sod cutting Ceremony for the Construction of Regional Accident Centre at Apemenin in the Ahanta West Municipality Comes off on Thursday, 2nd July, 2020. The project is being financed by Coastal Development Authority under the One Million Dollars per constituency initiative.
Address To The Nation By The President Of The Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, On Updates To Ghana’s Enhanced Response To The Coronavirus Pandemic, On Sunday, 10th May, 2020.
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. It has been eight (8) weeks since our nation embarked on a co-ordinated, enhanced response towards combating the Coronavirus pandemic, after we recorded our first two (2) confirmed cases. We have taken the necessary measures of aggressively tracing, testing, isolating and treating infected persons and their contacts, as a means of containing the spread of the virus amongst the population.
Measures such as the temporary partial lockdown of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa, the adherence to enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols, the ban on public gatherings, and the closure of our schools and our borders have imposed considerable difficulties on all of us. But, I am heartened that we appreciate that they are essential to save lives and livelihoods, and I thank all of you for your continuing co-operation.
As at Wednesday, 6th May, a total of one hundred and thirty five thousand, nine hundred and two (135,902) tests had been conducted, with our country’s total number of confirmed cases standing, at the time, at three thousand, and ninety-one (3,091), with three hundred and three (303) recoveries, and, sadly, eighteen (18) deaths. On Thursday, 7 th May, fourteen thousand and forty-six (14,046) more tests were conducted, and this included the clearing of the last set of backlogs. Our total confirmed cases, then, rose to four thousand and twelve (4,012) positives, i.e., nine hundred and twenty-one (921) new cases.
Our recoveries stood at three hundred and twenty-three (323), eight (8) persons were critically ill, and deaths still at eighteen (18). It is important to stress that five hundred and thirty-three (533) out of the nine hundred and twenty-one (921) new cases recorded between last Wednesday and Thursday are factory workers from a fish processing factory 2 located in Tema. All five hundred and thirty-three (533) persons were infected by one (1) person. Again, let me reiterate that these new nine hundred and twenty-one (921) cases were from backlogs dating as far back as 26th April, and not necessarily over a twenty-four (24) hour window.
The coming on stream of seven (7) more testing facilities across the country, to complement the efforts of the Noguchi Research Institute, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the National Public Health Reference Laboratory at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, have meant that we have been able to clear all the backlog of tests, and the reporting on the cases of infections since Friday, 8th May, is now current. On Friday, a total of five thousand, two hundred and fifty-three (5,253) tests were conducted, with two hundred and fifty-one (251) positives. On Saturday, two thousand, two hundred and fifty-five (2,255) tests were conducted, with two hundred and sixty-six (266) found to be positive. For today, Sunday, a total of three thousand and forty-five (3,045) tests have been done, with one hundred and sixty (160) testing positive.
These relatively lower daily numbers of infections are welcome, and reinforces the fact that the measures instituted to help reduce person-to-person contact, and help defeat the pandemic are working. So, as at today, Sunday, 10th May, the country has conducted a total of one hundred and sixty thousand, five hundred and one (160,501) tests, with our total number of infections standing at four thousand, seven hundred (4,700), with four hundred and ninety-four (494) recoveries, five (5) persons being critically ill, and four thousand, one hundred and seventy-nine (4,179) persons responding to treatment.
Twenty-two (22) persons, virtually all of them with underlying illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and chronic liver disease, have unhappily died. We must understand that the more people we test for the virus, the more persons we will discover as positive, and, thus, have the opportunity to isolate and treat them. If you do not test people for the virus, you will not find the persons who are positive, let alone isolate them from the population and treat them, and prevent them from spreading the virus. Indeed, had we 3 not been proactive in undertaking enhanced contact tracing of infected persons, and had relied solely on testing persons who reported to hospital, which is the practice followed by some other countries, i.e. routine testing, our total case count would have stood at one thousand, four hundred and thirteen (1,413).
The other three thousand, two hundred and thirty-two (3,232), i.e. two-thirds (⅔) of the population of positives, would have been undetected, and still be within the population, unknowingly infecting others. I know some political actors will want you to believe that our current numbers represent a failure on the part of Government. Do not begrudge them. They need to make such comments for their political survival. On the contrary, we must be emboldened in the knowledge that the four thousand, seven hundred (4,700) persons infected, so far, with the virus, have been identified, taken out of the population, isolated and are being treated.
The implementation of our strategy of aggressively tracing, testing and treating is our surest way of rooting out the virus. This early identification of persons with the virus ensures that they do not spread the virus to others; we are provided with the opportunity to treat them; and it helps us to understand better the dynamics of the virus. The rapid implementation of all of our policies has resulted in our low infection, hospitalisation and death rates, some of the lowest in Africa and the world. We, certainly, must be doing something right in Ghana. Our country has administered more tests per million people than any other country in Africa, and, in fact, the World Health Organisation has reached out to us to share our sample pooling experience with other African countries, so they can adopt this strategy and also ramp up their testing capabilities.
It is, thus, vital that we continue to maintain the measures of enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocols to contain the spread of the virus, as they are the surest way to a quick return to a life of normalcy. All stakeholder bodies I have interacted with over the last three (3) weeks, in the health, labour, religious, chieftaincy, educational, hospitality, tourism and creative arts sectors, share in this opinion, because, collectively, we believe they are essential for our very survival. These groups are also being engaged on the way forward towards the easing of these restrictions, so that our social and economic lives can go back to normal, whilst protecting lives at the same 4 time. Soon, those engagements will enable us to design a clear roadmap for the easing of restrictions.
In my address to workers and the nation on May Day, I announced the extension of the closure of our borders for one more month as the means to continue halting the importation of the virus into our country. Tonight, I have come into your homes to announce that the ban on public gatherings, as set out in E.I 64, has been extended also to the end of the month, i.e. 31st May. So, during this period, there will continue to be a ban on public gatherings, such as the holding of conferences, workshops, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities and sporting events. All educational facilities, private and public, continue to remain closed. There is still a ban on funerals, other than private burials conducted with not more than twenty-five (25) persons.
It is noteworthy that the Police are arresting and prosecuting persons, irrespective of their status in society, who flout these regulations. We cannot allow a few persons, for their narrow, selfish interests, to jeopardise the health, well-being and safety of the larger population. If you fall foul of the law, you will face its full rigours. Fellow Ghanaians, I, like you, would love to see an end to these restrictions. I know the difficulties each and every one of you has been through over the last two months. You have had to alter completely your way of life; you have had to stay at home, except for specified purposes; you cannot travel outside the country; you cannot go to Church, and you had to cancel activities usually associated with Easter; in this Holy Month of Ramadan, our Muslim brothers and sisters are having to pray at home, instead of congregating at the Mosque, and foregoing the public celebration of the Eid; parents are having to bear the extra burden of providing care for their children who, instead of being in school, are currently at home; operators of trotros, taxis, buses, markets, hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have lost the patronage of their clients, and, as a result, lost much needed incomes; significant numbers of people have, unfortunately, lost their jobs because of the impact of the virus on our economy; most of us want to hang out with our families, friends and loved ones in a social setting, but cannot.
Uncomfortable as these restrictions have been, we have no option but to stay the course. We can only guarantee the safety of each other if we continue to adhere to them. As I have said before, these restrictions cannot and will not be a permanent feature of our lives, and, shortly, I hope to announce the steps for, systematically, easing the restrictive measures to bring us back to normality. Each one of us, however, can help to speed up this process if we continue to practice the measures of social distancing, washing our hands with soap under running water, refraining from shaking hands, and, wearing our masks whenever we leave our homes. These measures must be respected by all.
We do this not just for ourselves, but also to lessen the workload on our health workers, who continue to be at the forefront of caring for those affected by the virus, and caring for the sick in general. On our part, in addition to the incentive package instituted for all healthcare workers, Government has so far distributed the following to healthcare facilities across the country: four million, two hundred and forty thousand, seven hundred and nineteen (4,240,719) gloves; two million, five hundred and seventy six thousand, three hundred and thirty three (2,576,333) nose masks; sixty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three (60,823) goggles; sixty thousand, one hundred and thirty two (60,132) litres of sanitizers; fifty thousand, seven hundred and seventy (50,770) head covers; forty one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-two (41,992) gowns; forty-one thousand (41,000) medical scrubs; and thirty thousand, seven hundred and eighty-three (30,783) N-95 face masks.
Further, we have extended this gesture to other frontline actors engaged in the fight, with the presentation of five thousand (5,000) PPEs to members of the media, and tomorrow, Monday, 11 th May, ten thousand domestically-produced face masks and more money will be delivered to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to enhance its capacity to undertake the important work it is already doing. Let me, once again, thank the healthcare workers, including all those responsible for the tracing, testing and treating, for their heroic contribution to the fight against the pandemic. They will be long remembered in our history. In advance, I say a hearty ayekoo to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, which celebrates its sixtieth (60th) anniversary on Tuesday.
This weekend, I chaired a three-day cabinet retreat, at Peduase Lodge, to examine in detail measures aimed at reviving and strengthening our economy. I am happy to reiterate that Government is putting in place a Resilience and Recovery Plan, with the overarching aim of finding more resources to strengthen the productive sectors of the economy to ensure sustained economic activity. We are rolling out a soft loan scheme of six hundred million cedis (GH¢600 million), in this month of May, to support micro, small and medium scale businesses, and, as you know, the commercial banks, with the support of the Bank of Ghana, have also instituted a three billion cedi (GH¢3 billion) credit and stimulus package, to help revitalise industries, especially in the pharmaceutical, hospitality, services, and manufacturing sectors.
The Minister for Finance is working tirelessly to find additional resources to supplement these amounts, including the resources to finance the construction of eighty-eight (88) district hospitals, ‘Agenda 88’, and seven (7) regional hospitals, which he will announce at the appropriate time to Parliament and the nation. Before bringing this address to an end, it is critical that I raise one significant side of the fight against this virus, which has not been given enough emphasis, but has to do with the change in attitude that will impact our lifestyles.
That has to be one of the permanent legacies of the pandemic. We have to improve our hygiene, our fitness and exercises, our eating, generally, our style of living, which will boost our immunity to disease and the virus. For instance, we are told that the key vitamins that fortify our immune system are vitamins A, B6, C, and E. Fortunately for us, in Ghana, all of these can be found in many of our foods, such as oranges, kontomire, millet, cashew nuts, crabs, plantain, okro, dawadawa, brown rice and mushrooms. Following a good diet, patronising our healthy foods, exercising regularly, ensuring our personal hygiene, and improving our lifestyle habits should become part and parcel of our daily routines, which will help bolster our immune systems, and help us in the fight against the pandemic.
Fellow Ghanaians, this virus, as we have seen the world over, is no respecter of persons, and has wreaked its havoc on every country on the planet. We can defeat it if we continue to look out for one another, and remain each other’s keeper. We are fighting a common enemy, and it is imperative that we do not allow religious, ethnic or political differences to get in the way of 7 certain victory.
So, we cannot allow a few persons, who wish to use these differences to scuttle our collective fight, to succeed. Over the course of our history as a people, we have had to overcome several trials and tribulations: slavery, imperialism, colonialism, tyranny and dictatorship, and we have overcome them all so that, with the help of the Almighty, we are, today, building a free, independent State, a State that, despite the urgency of the crisis, is governed by democratic institutions, and respect for fundamental human rights, especially freedom of speech.
That is as it should be, for we are determined in our generation to realise the dreams of freedom that animated and inspired the founders of our State. I am confident that we will overcome this pandemic, as well. This, too, shall pass! For the Battle is the Lord’s!! May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong. I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.
Fellow Ghanaians,
I have come into your homes, again, this evening to provide an update, as I promised, on the measures taken by Government to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
You may recall that on Wednesday, 12th March, 2020, when I first spoke to you directly on this matter, I announced the first raft of enhanced measures taken in response to the pandemic. At the time, there had been no reported, confirmed case of the Coronavirus in Ghana.
Since then, six (6) confirmed cases have been announced, all of people who recently travelled into the country. Advisories on how to manage the developments have also been announced by the Ministries of Health and Information. Public education is being intensified to ensure that citizens are well advised on preventive measures.
Earlier today, Sunday, 15th March, 2020, I chaired a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Coronavirus response. After deliberations, I have decided, in the interest of public safety and the protection of our population, to review the public gathering advisories earlier announced as follows:
1. All public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques, have been suspended for the next four (4) weeks. Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding twenty-five (25) in attendance;
2. All Universities, Senior High Schools, and basic schools, i.e. public and private schools, will be closed Monday, 16th March, 2020, till further notice. The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication, has been tasked to roll out distance learning programmes. However, BECE and WASSCE candidates will be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations, but with prescribed social distancing protocols;
3. The Government of Ghana’s Travel Advisory issued earlier today should be observed as announced;
4. Businesses and other workplaces can continue to operate, but should observe prescribed social distancing between patrons and staff;
5. Establishments, such as supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, night clubs, hotels and drinking spots, should observe enhanced hygiene procedures by providing, amongst others, hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands;
6. The Ministry of Transport should work with the transport unions and private and public transport operators to ensure enhanced hygienic conditions in all vehicles and terminals, by providing, amongst others, hand sanitizers, running water and soap for washing of hands; and
7. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should co-ordinate, with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, measures to enhance conditions of hygiene in markets across the country.
Additionally, as the experts conduct contact tracing, I appeal to all to co-operate with them to ensure that persons who have come into contact with positive cases are identified and supported.
I have directed the Attorney General to submit, immediately, to Parliament emergency legislation, in accordance with Article 21 (4) (c) & (d) of the Constitution of the Republic, to embody these measures, and I have further directed the Minister for Health to exercise his powers, under section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), by the immediate issuance of an Executive Instrument, to govern the relevant measures. I call upon Parliament to support the Executive in this national endeavour.
As I said earlier, there is every need to observe prescribed social distancing and good personal hygiene to prevent community spread. We are determined to do whatever we can to prevent the spread of the virus, and protect the population. All the measures that have been announced will be subject to constant review and enhancement, if necessary.
Fellow Ghanaians, these are not ordinary times, so, let us all put our shoulders to the wheel, and I am confident that, together, by the Grace of God, we shall overcome this challenge.
May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
I thank you for your attention.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has expressed his satisfaction with the measures Government has put in place to deal with the threat of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 4th March, 2020, when he paid visits to the Kotoka International Airport, the Tema General Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
Accompanied by the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu, the President’s first port of call was the arrivals terminal of the Kotoka International Airport.
It was revealed by the Health Minister that several stakeholder engagements with the Ghana Airport Company Limited, Ghana Immigration Services, Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority, at all the country’s ports of entry, have been held place to strengthen Ghana’s COVID-19 preparedness and surveillance.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Ltd, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa, told President Akufo-Addo that, on arrival at the airport, all passengers are screened using thermal scanning devices at the airport, and passengers are also required to fill a health declaration form.
Additionally, the GACL boss indicated that point of entry staff at the airport have been sensitised on case detection and infection prevention and control, together with the creation of a holding room at the airport which is to be utilised to hold suspected COVID-19 cases.
At the Tema General Hospital, one of the hospitals designated as a treatment /isolation centre for the COVID-19 disease, the Medical Director of hospital, Dr. Richard Anthony, told President Akufo-Addo that the Infectious Diseases Unit of the Hospital is “readily prepared for the COVID-19. We have an emergency response team made up of nurses, pharmacists, administrators on standby”.
The President was taken on a tour of the clean room encompassing a changing area for the nurses, as well as the main ward, which did not have any patients as at the time of the visit.
“We have not had any suspected or cases tested in Tema General,” he added.
At the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, another hospital designated as a treatment /isolation centre for the COVID-19 disease, President Akufo-Addo was told that the infectious diseases centre of the hospital “is a full unit, purposely-built and well-designed to hold and quarantine an infectious case.”
The President was made aware of the fact that the emergency response team at the hospital has been activated, with basic medical checks undertaken on every patient who visits the hospital.
“If there is any positive indication of the contraction of a disease, we keep you and we make arrangement for the patient to be transported to this centre. We conduct a test, which involves taking samples and sending it to Noguchi. To date, we have tested about seventeen people who fitted into the case definition. However, luckily, none of them tested positive,” the head of the Centre told President Akufo-Addo
In briefing the President, the Minister of Health stated that public health emergency management structures at all levels, i.e. national, regional, district have been activated and placed on high alert, in addition to the holding of National Technical Co-ordinating Committee meetings.
He added that emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated, alerts have been sent to all regions to activate Public Health Emergency Management Committees (PHEMCs) to initiate preparedness activities and enhance surveillance for respiratory diseases.
Thus far, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman Manu told President Akufo-Addo that forty (40) suspected corona virus cases have been reported and tested. All forty (40), he stressed have tested negative for COVID-19 from Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).
The Ahanta West Municipal Assembly Inaugurated its general Assembly on Tuesday, 23 January, 2020. The programme was graced by Traditional Leaders, Opinion Leaders and Various Key Stakeholders. the programme was chaired by the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Ahantaman Rural Bank Ltd.
The President was represented by Mr. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. He urged all stakeholders to work in unity and champion the development of the Municipality.
The Ahanta West Municipal Assembly on Friday, 10th and Monday 13th January, 2020 disbursed grants and distributed relieve items and working tools to Persons Living With Disability in the Municipality.
Include more fruits, vegetables, entire grains, and vegetables uromexil in your diet regimen.