Coronavirus: Gloves give ‘false sense of security’ – Scientist warns

Lab scientist and inventor of the Veronica bucket has warned the public against the wearing of hand gloves in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Veronica Bekoe, the wearing of gloves by the public creates a false sense of security.

Many Ghanaians have resorted to the use of hand gloves as part of protecting themselves against the deadly virus.

But speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, Madam Bekoe said the gloves used by the public does not protect them.

“We should be careful of the gloves. People are using the gloves to pick items and touch surfaces and then they will end up touching their faces with it. It carries many things in there and they don’t wash their hands because they are wearing gloves.

“Using the gloves gives a false sense of security. I can caution that the gloves is false security. How do they ensure that they don’t contaminate themselves when removing the gloves, it is dangerous,” she warned.

Meanwhile, Coronavirus cases in Ghana have jumped to 24 from 21, as of last night.

The update was posted on the government website dedicated to matters concerning the virus.

Details of the new cases have not been disclosed.

Among the confirmed cases, seventeen (17) are of Ghanaian nationality and seven (7) other nationals namely: Norway, Lebanon, China, France, UK.

With regards to contact tracing, a total of 575 contacts have been identified and are being tracked.

On Saturday confirmed cases stood at 21.

Two of the cases were reported from the Greater Accra Region and the other in the Ashanti Region.

They were a 55-year-old Ghanaian woman resident of the United Kingdom who came to Ghana within the last two weeks; an 84-year-old Ghanaian lady also a resident of the United Kingdom who came to Ghana within the past two weeks and a 27-year-old Chinese man who came to Ghana.

On Friday, Ghana recorded five more cases of the deadly disease that has infected almost 300, 000 people globally.

The first was a 29-year-old Ghanaian lady resident of Accra with no history of travel. Sample taken from her confirmed positive in the laboratory.

The second is a 34-year-old Ghanaian lady resident of Accra who had contact of a confirmed case at her place of work.



Also, a 53-year-old Ghanaian male, resident of Tema with no history of travel, no evidence of close contact with a confirmed case. Samples confirmed positive in the laboratory.

A 41-year-old Ghanaian male who arrived in Ghana by KLM on the 15 March 2020; indicated exposure with family members in Amsterdam exhibiting respiratory symptoms and also on the flight with some passengers sneezing and coughing.

The fifth person is a 36-year-old Ghanaian male resident of Paris, France; date of arrival in Ghana unconfirmed with no evidence of contact with an infected person.

China, Italy, Iran, Spain and Germany have suffered the highest number of infections.

The current death toll suggests 4 per cent of patients who catch the virus die from it.

But experts say the death rate is probably lower than that because the true number of infections is much higher is far greater because some countries, including the UK, are only testing people hospitalised by the illness.