A 16-bed capacity Intensive Care Unit has been set up by the government at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) to handle complicated cases of COVID-19.

Ghana has so far recorded 19 cases of the virus.

The government, as part of measures to prevent further spread of the virus, has banned all public gatherings.

Deputy Minister of Health, Alexander Abban told the media on Saturday, 21 March 2020: “This facility has been prepared and we are ready in the event that somebody requires to be brought to the ICU.

“These things are in place. Usually, those who require ICU care are those who are not able to breathe on their own and, so, you require ICU care and ventilators to help in the breathing of the person because at that time the virus may have taken the respiratory system and that is where you will require an ICU.”