No Covid-19 positive case recorded since airport re-opening

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced that no positive Covid-19 cases have been recorded among international air passengers arriving at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) since its re-opening on Tuesday.

This is because the safety measures required are being strictly adhered to by both the passengers and officials at the airport.

Upon arrivals, the passengers fill out a health declaration form, make payment of their tests, visit the sample booth for the antigen test, which is taken to the laboratory situated at the airport, after which the port health officials present the results to the passengers.

Speaking at a media encounter yesterday in Accra, the Head of Virology Department at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Prof William Ampofo, noted that the operation at the airport is time-bound and health officials are working assiduously to minimise the waiting time.

“The equipment is a fluorescent immuno-acid machine that processes six samples within 15mins. There are two banks set up at the airport, and each bank contain 40 machines, so in all the provider has set up 80 machines to make sure that as passengers are arriving they are being processed and their result given to them,” he said.

Active cases

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, revealed that Ghana’s coronavirus active cases have dropped from 904 to 856, despite the record of new cases.

He said, as at September 3, there had been four new deaths, with 55 new infections, which were recorded in four regions, namely Eastern, Greater Accra, Bono East and Ashanti.

“As at September 3, we have the active cases of 856, dropping from 904. Our cumulative total comes to 44,713 and 43,557 have now recovered, and we have so far recorded 280 deaths, bringing our case fatality rate at 0.62 per cent,” he said.

“Our positive rate also continues to decline. The number of people being tested are relatively low. Currently, we are doing quite well as far as the numbers are concerned, and I hope we will continue doing exactly what we are doing to be there.

“We continue to plead with people that ‘don’t get complacent’. We are down because we are doing a lot. We in the health sector will continue testing to help us contain the disease,” Dr Kum-Aboagye continued.

WASSCE students

The GHS Director-General announced measures to be taken in respect of the final year students writing their examination and about to go on vacation.

“We are expecting that any school that did not experience any case can vacate and go home. Secondly, any school that has not reported any positive case in the last two weeks prior to closure can also all go home. However, if there is any school that any positive case, we will do some assessment of contacts and those contacts will have their vacation delayed and assessed before they go home,” he said.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye expressed delight at the low spike in cases of COVID-19 in most senior high schools amid the resumption for examination.

He urged all students to adhere to the safety protocols as they return home.

Source: dailystatesman.com.gh/Isabella Agyakwa