It’s a pity, Ghana is not ready for coronavirus – Specialist

An Aerospace Medicine specialist, Dr. Yakubu Akparibo has decried the poor infrastructure that has been put in place, as a country, to handle a possible outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in Ghana. “More of a pity,” this is how he summarized Ghana’s preparedness for the respiratory virus that has killed over 1870 across the globe. About 72,436 infections have been confirmed in mainland China. Ghana is yet to record any case of coronavirus. Dr. Yakubu Akparibo, who is also the Medical Director of Careflight, was speaking at public forum on coronavirus on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at TV3’s Executive Theatre. It was held under the auspices of Media General’s Thought Leadership Series and Vodafone Ghana under theme: “Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) and their Effects on Public Health Management in Ghana”. Ghana currently has two treatment centres – Ridge Hospital and Tema General Hospital – as well as the teaching hospitals to take care of  infected persons should the country record outbreak of coronavirus. But Dr. Yakubu Akparibo said his assessment of isolation places for coronavirus in the country “shows we are not prepared”. The aerospace medicine specialist said the virus that transmits coronavirus cannot thrive in rooms with negative pressure. Unfortunately, he pointed out, none of the centres said to have been designated for quarantine are at that pressure. He said new centres should rather be designated for the fight, mentioning however that the personal protective equipment (PPEs) used to fight Ebola can still be used. Source: 3news.com | Ghana]]>