The President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr.Frank Ankobiah, has revealed that there is no known cure for the novel COVID-19 (Coronavirus) which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, aired on Happy 98.9FM, he explained that infected people who recover from the disease is as a result of their strong immune system that is able to combat the virus and not because of any identifiable medication.
“Some people have mild symptoms of the virus whilst others have severe symptoms. Usually those with weak immunity show severe symptoms of the disease. When someone with mild symptoms recover, it doesn’t mean that medication given to such person made him or her recover. Such a person’s immune system is able to overcome the illness”.
He stressed that “fighting Coronavirus is a competition between humans and the virus”, and as such having a strong immune system can help a person recover from mild symptoms of the disease.
He furthered that there was a correlation between the role of the immune system and the numerous recorded cases involving the elderly. “This is why most older people have severe symptoms. A lot of mortality rate are from the elderly”, he added.
Dr. Ankobiah emphatically stated: “We are not aware of any medicine to Coronavirus now”.
A statement by the WHO on medicines or therapies that can prevent or cure COVID-19 says: “While some western, traditional or home remedies may provide comfort and alleviate symptoms of COVID-19, there is no evidence that current medicine can prevent or cure the disease. WHO does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for COVID-19. However, there are several ongoing clinical trials that include both western and traditional medicines”.
The WHO has, however, given simple precautions such as regular washing of hands with soap under running water, avoiding touching your face, among others can reduce one’s chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah