The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ghana Health Service (GHS) have received news of the confirmation of the first case of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria.
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The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, confirmed the case in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, February 28, 2020.
According to the statement, the case involves an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and just returned from Milan, Italy on the 25th of February 2020.
He was confirmed to be positive by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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On the back of this, the MoH and GHS in joint press release reassure Ghanaians about their preparedness. “We wish to take the opportunity to reassure Ghanaians that we will continue to intensify our preparedness activities and heighten surveillance at all points of entry to ensure that all citizens are safe and secured.”
They added that the media should be circumspect in their reportage on coronavirus to avoid fear and panic in the public.
There has been a recent spread of coronavirus in some parts of the world and everyone is taking the right measures to ensure that they are not infected.
Coronavirus affects the human respiratory system, causing symptoms from sneezing to coughing to shortness of breath and in some cases could lead to death. Here are a few ways to keep yourself protected and safe from the virus.
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With the Coronavirus now in Africa, Happyghana.com gives you steps to limit the spread of infection.
- Wash your hands properly
In this period, it is very important that you wash your hands properly and regularly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. - Have hand sanitizer in your bag
In cases where you don’t have access to water and soap, you can always use hand sanitizer. - Steer clear of raw meats and animal products.
If you can, try to avoid any physical contact with animals, animal products and raw meats because they might be contaminated. - Always cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing
When you sneeze or cough, endeavor to use a tissue to cover your mouth and dispose of the tissue properly. If you use your hands to cover your mouth, wash immediately with soap and water. By doing this, you are preventing the spread of germs. - Go to the hospital
The moment you start to feel feverish, coughing and having flu, immediately take a trip to the hospital. Do not treat yourself. It might not be corona-virus but prevention is better than cure as they say.
Below is the full release:
PRESS RELEASE
UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19)
The Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service has received news of the confirmation of the first case of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria, a sub-regional neighbour on 27th February, 2020.
We wish to take the opportunity to reassure Ghanaians that we will continue to intensify our preparedness activities and heighten surveillance at all points of entry to ensure that all citizens are safe and secured.
Meanwhile, we entreat the general public to stick to the following precautionary measures:
1. Regularly wash hands with soap under running water or if possible use hand sanitizers regularly
2. Practice common cough/sneezing etiquette such as covering of mouth with handkerchief or tissue paper when coughing or sneezing
3. If you have recently arrived from any of the countries that have reported a case, we advise you stay away from crowd (self-quarantine) for at least 14 days.
4. In cases of persistent cough or fever, contact the call centre for assistance on these lines; 055 2222 004 055 2222 005 050 9497700 055 8439 868
5. Do not visit any health centre/facility on your own if you have just returned from any of the affected countries, and you are exhibiting symptoms like fever, cough and difficulty in breathing. Call the numbers above for assistance.
6. We will also entreat citizens to temporary avoid non-essential visit to affected countries.
In order to streamline communications and to avoid creating fear and panic, we advise the media to speak to only designated experts whose contact has been given below:
The Director General, Ghana Health Service-Dr. Patrick Kuma-Abaoagye
The Director Public Health -Dr. Badu Sarkodie
The Deputy Director, Disease Surveillance Dept.-Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe
The Port Health Coordinator-Dr. Dennis Laryea
All media enquiries should also be directed to the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service. Citizens are requested to avoid spreading messages on social media that has the potential to cause fear and panic if the source is not authenticated by the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service.
We encourage the media to devote some of their airtime time in educating the general public on the preventive measures they may need to adopt to avoid infection and the spread of the disease.
We will continue to monitor the situation globally and update the general public accordingly.
Thank you.