Two cases of coronavirus confirmed in Ghana

Ghana has recorded two confirmed cases of the fast spreading deadly coronavirus, the health ministry announced on Thursday.

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu disclosed the news at a late night press conference in the capital, Accra.

This comes a day after President Akufo-Addo announced the release of $100 million to combat the potential arrival of the scourge which has so far affected over 110,000 people with 3,400 deaths worldwide.

The two cases, Agyeman-Manu said tested positive after laboratory tests from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

The cases are ‘imported cases’ by returnees from Norway and Turkey, he stated.

“Both individuals returned to Ghana from Norway and Turkey. So these are imported cases of COVID-19.

“I wish to assure all Ghanaians that the Government of Ghana together with all Health Partners will continue to work assiduously to ensure the situation is contained.

“Both patients are currently being kept in isolation and are stable. We have initiated processes for contact tracing,” the minister added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus as a pandemic Wednesday.

According to WHO’s Director-General, Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he expects the outbreak to worsen.

“We expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher,” he said as Italy tightened its coronavirus quarantine.

Bars, restaurants, hairdressing and beauty salons had been closed in Europe’s hardest-hit country – except for supermarkets, food stores, and chemists after recording the highest daily increase in mortalities outside China since the outbreak.

“Thank you to all Italians who make sacrifices. We are proving to be a great nation,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a televised address. “We will only be able to see the effects of this great effort in a couple of weeks.”

“The country needs responsibility from all of us, the responsibility of 60 million Italians that are making small and large sacrifices every day,” Conte added of the measures that will take effect from Thursday until March 25.

Cases confirmed in Africa include Algeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.