Correspondence from Western Region

The Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region has recorded two positive cases of Coronavirus pandemic.

The Western Regional Health Directorate through its 'Daily Situation Report on Coronavirus' on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, confirmed that the Municipality has recorded its latest confirmed cases of the deadly pandemic.

According to the Western Regional Health Directorate, the Nzema East Municipality has so far sent 11 suspected cases to be tested since the killer Coronavirus broke up in Ghana on March 12, 2020.

With these 11 suspected cases, 3 suspected cases have been tested negative.

So far, Western Region has recorded 9 confirmed cases with no death.

The Western Region had its first confirmed COVID-19 two weeks ago from a Chinese national who works with Coastal Quarry Company in Shama.

The Region had its first confirmed Coronavirus disease on Easter Monday from a Chinese national who works with the Coastal Quarry Company at Anto in the Shama District.

Apart from Nzema East, Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis has recorded 7 positive cases and according to the Health Directorate, six of these cases are returnees who live in the area while the other one has no travel history.

In an interview with GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent Daniel Kaku, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Nzema East Municipality, Mr. Frank Okpenyen said one of the Coronavirus patient came from an abroad and the other one who works in the municipality went to Accra some two weeks ago and returned to the municipality with the virus.

He added that the Coronavirus Response Team was signaled upon their arrival and visited them and asked them to go for a 14-day self quarantine and they adhere to.

He, therefore disclosed that, "The one who returned from abroad is a resident of the Municipality and this person I am talking about returned to the area before the closure of the borders and immediately he arrived, we traced him and asked him to observe a self quarantine and as he was doing it, our Medical Professionals always check his temperature but my brother as they were checking his temperature he has not showing any sign of contracting the virus and later President Akufo-Addo announced that anybody who returned to the country before the closure of the borders should go for a test and in fact I have to commend the President for such move because we seized the opportunity to pick sample of the person and sent it to be tested and unfortunately the sample was confirmed as a positive".

The MCE confirmed that they have started contact tracing and therefore urging his people to observe the preventive measures outlined by the Ghana Health Service and World Health Organization (WHO) by washing their hands frequently, social distancing protocol among others.

He encouraged his people not to be panicked about the confirmed cases the Municipality had recorded.

He pledged that the Nzema Coronavirus Committee would continue to educate the people about the virus.

He disclosed that the Assembly was going to put some strict measures in place within the week in a way to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He hailed the health professionals within his jurisdiction for putting their lives on line to fight this killer Coronavirus and also commended the government and MP for supporting the Assembly with some Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to be used to fight against the virus.