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Coronavirus: WHO Has Advised Against Evacuation – Director General GHS
Ghanaian students who are currently stuck up in coronavirus-stricken Wuhan province in China are appealing to the government to as a matter of urgency evacuate them before things get out of hand.
According to them, most countries have and are evacuating their nationals from the province but there seems to be no help in sight for Ghanaian students who are locked up in their various rooms.
Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme, Secretary-General of the Union of Ghana Students, Mr. Bernard Bekoe Boamah, explained that the government should take steps to evacuate their fellow students from the coronavirus-stricken province.
But the Acting Director-General, Dr. Patrick Kuma, updating the media about the preparedness of the Health Sector to prevent the Coronavirus in the country responded that the World Health Organization has advised against evacuation.
He reiterated that evacuation is not an option on the table for discussion at the moment even though there are series of engagements with stakeholders to see the way forward; thus, the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health will be meeting the Parliamentary Select Committee in that regard.
“The World Health Organization has said that it is not advisable for any country to evacuate their people from Wuhan Province,” he recounted.
He stressed that the health sector is constantly monitoring the happenings in China and the next decision, to him, will be determined by the conditions that will be observed in China.
He, however, assured that there are measures in place to prevent the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the country as the Ministry Health together with the Ghana Health Service, have created centers to quarantine people who may be affected by the Coronavirus.
Director of Public Health, Dr. Badu Sarkodie alerted that people coming from Wuhan Province to Ghana will be quarantined for not less than 14 days to do a thorough check before allowing them to stay in the country.
He further alarmed that no anti-virus has been produced to fight the new Coronavirus as it is different from the known Coronavirus, adding that the symptoms and the features of the new Coronavirus are not the same as the Old Coronavirus.
“We don’t know much information about the new Coronavirus . . . but we want to encourage Ghanaians to continue to wash their hands before they eat and we should avoid coughing directly at people,” he cautioned.
