Kwaku Agyeman Manu the Minister for Health says the government is planning to set up a 100-bed capacity facility in a remote area to serve as a centre for quarantining persons with suspected coronavirus infection.
He said the facility is expected to be ready within two weeks.
Mr. Manu, made this known on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, when he briefed Parliamentarians on the state of the country’s preparedness.
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“Mr. Speaker, procurement of all regeants…for confirmation of coronavirus cases is currently ongoing to support the two research structures. A quarantine centre has been established. Another remotely located 100-bed capacity facility is being secured for the purpose of quarantine for illegible persons and this will be ready for use in two weeks. We do not hope that we’ll get to that situation,” he disclosed to the House.
He further outlined other new measures the government has put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus into the country.
“Dedicated contact lines have been given to the general public to report suspected cases of Covid-19. Phone lines are 0552222004, 0552222005, 05094977100, 0558439868 and 0800110555. These are all toll-free numbers. Alternatively, text messages can be sent to the shortcode 199. Mr. Speaker, so far, 5,000 PPEs have been procured and distributed to all regions, major health facilities, points of entry, teaching hospitals, treatment centres and selected health facilities,” he said.
“For surveillance, we have inducted and circulated Covid-19 case definitions to regional and lower levels. We have also adopted a Cobid-19 investigation form which is currently in use. National rapid response team has been activated. The national-level training for rapid response teams and local health workers on severe respiratory illnesses has been done. Training of regional and district rapid response teams has been planned for execution.”
Per Ghana’s preparedness plan for an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, the state is operating along the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.
Alerts have been sent to all regions to update their respective preparedness plans and activate their respective public health management committees.
Ghana is among 13 priority countries in Africa identified as being at high risk of getting the virus because of their established links with China.
