Coronavirus: 24 out of 29 suspected cases in Western Region test negative
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The Western Region has by far recorded a total of twenty- nine (29) suspected COVID 19 cases. Out of this, twenty-four (24) have tested negative to the coronavirus, with five (5) more test results yet to be released by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research; Deputy Director of Health for the Western Region, Dr. Atsu Dodor told Skyy News yesterday.
“As at yesterday, we’ve taken 24 samples and they all came out negative. We are awaiting five more. So as we speak there’s no positive case in the Western Region” he emphasized.
According to him, these cases come from several health facilities across the region.
Case Counts to rise?
The number of suspected cases in the Western Region has been on a gradual rise over the past weeks. It is yet to record a positive case to the deadly coronavirus.
Following the announcement of a ‘Lock down’ in Accra, Tema and Kumasi, the region has witnessed a rise in population. The Oil City [Sekondi Takoradi], the country’s most commercial community, after the three ‘locked down’ areas, is highly at risk of having residents infected by the virus. This is because some residents in lock down cities migrated into the region at hours after the announcement by the President last Friday night; all to avoid the restrictions.
Though no risk assessment and communication has been taken yet on the incident, many fear some ‘carriers’ from the lock down cities could infect others.
Asked if the numbers of suspected cases could shoot up in the coming days, Dr. Dodor said “I can’t really predict, I can’t really predict but from what we’ve seen elsewhere the numbers go up, then starts coming down”
The mass screening at highway barriers
A medical team have since Sunday afternoon been deployed to screen passengers and drivers entering the Western Region at all major barriers [Asem Asa Tollbooth at Shama District, Tarkwa, Wassa Akropong and at the Elubo border].
So far, over 10,000 persons have been screened by the team at the Asem Asa Tollbooth.
Author: Abraham Mensah
ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson
[email protected] An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.
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