Upper East Regional Minister, Ambassador Tangoba Abayage, has assured the people of the region, especially residents of Bolgatanga, the regional capital, not to panic because the region last Friday recorded its first confirmed case of Covid-19.
Briefing the media in Bolgatanga on Sunday April 5, 2020, Regional Minister, Ambassador Tangoba Abayage said 11 out of the 15 Municipal and District Assemblies in the region have recorded a total of 28 suspected cases out of which 27 turned out negative with 1 confirmed.
Upper East Region on Friday recorded its first confirmed case when sample of a 33-year-old pregnant woman was taken to Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research for laboratory examination and the result came out positive. This was after she reported at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga with symptoms consistent with Covid-19.
According to the Regional Minister, the patient is clinically stable and in good health as of April 5, 2020 at the regional hospital. Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service in the region has so far traced 11 of her close contacts.
Outlining the coordination and measures put in place so far, Ambassador Tangoba said the Regional Security Committee has held two meetings – the first was to put modalities in place to combat the pandemic within the existing protocols and the second was to review the strategies put in place. Again, all 15 Municipal and District Assemblies have held Public Health Emergency Management meetings to enhance coordination of Covid-19 response while a regional level meeting will be held on Tuesday April 7, 2020. Meanwhile, the Regional Health Director has held a meeting with all his district directors, medical superintendents and the Navrongo Research Center to enhance internal coordination within the GHS for Covid-19.
Speaking on training for the health workers, the Regional Minister said 8 persons have been trained as Regional Rapid Response team while 157 staff have also been trained as DHAs and hospitals. Again, 23 staff from the regional hospital have been trained on surveillance and case management.
Touching on logistics, Ambassador Abayage disclosed that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Ltd through the Regional Coordination Council distributed Veronica Buckets and hand sanitisers to market queens in some municipalities and districts while the Regional Health Directorate took delivery of tranches of Personal Protective Equipment from the national level.
She stated that while education is ongoing at the regional and district levels, surveillance on the virus is ongoing.
Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Winfred Ofosu advised media practitioners in the region to ensure they disseminate appropriate information about the virus in order that they do not spread fear.
He explained that the confirmed case at the regional hospital was a mild one and appealed to the people of Bolgatanga and the region not to panic because the patient was doing well.
By William Nlanjerbor Jalulah
The post Confirmed case of Covid-19 in U/E is under control – Minister appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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