Coronavirus: Health ministry seeks more hands to combat spread

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has announced that the Ministry of Health (MOH) is mobilising new and retired health professionals to augment Ghana's preparedness and response in managing the COVID-19 outbreak.

He said it had become necessary to put these additional measures in place to beef up the strength should there be a surge in the number of confirmed cases of infection in the coming days or weeks.

In a national broadcast on Saturday night to update citizens on the COVID-19 situation, the President said 50, 000 additional test kits had been ordered and were due to arrive in the country very soon.

More Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) were also being procured to beef-up supplies for frontline health workers.

It was heartening, he said, the number of healthcare professionals who had come forward to offer their services.

He commended the entrepreneurs who had positively responded to the crisis by producing greater quantities of sanitizers and 'Veronica Buckets'.

He appealed to members of the pharmaceutical industry to scale up their domestic production of pharmaceutical products, saying the government would do its best to support them.

The President thanked all essential service providers for their support and commitment towards the common goal of suppressing the spread of the COVID-19 infections.

He said there would be a constant review of the measures announced, and if necessary, enhanced.

Ghana had recorded 21 confirmed cases, with one confirmed death, as at 2115 hours on Saturday, March 21, 2020.

President Akufo-Addo urged the MOH not to only step up contact tracing, but to also ensure that all persons who had come into contact with any person who had tested positive to also get tested.

He stated that the cases of localized infections required all persons to maintain strict self discipline, and to continue the practice of the prescribed social distancing and enhanced protocols in all aspects of their daily lives.

These include frequent handwashing with soap under running water, or the use of alcohol-based hand rub, avoiding shaking of hands and unnecessary close body contact.

The President pleaded with all citizens to comply with these measures, saying their survival was in their own hands.