Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has revealed that an additional eight Members of Parliament who embarked on foreign trips have been asked to observe a mandatory quarantine until they exhaust the required self-isolation period.

This move, the speaker says, is protective rather than punitive in the wake of the deadly novel Coronavirus.

Parliament, last week directed two MPs to observe a self-isolation exercise and now eight members have been added, bringing the number to 10.

Addressing the media at the office of the Speaker of Parliament, he stated that the house has a total number of 10 MPs in isolation to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

He however failed to disclose the identities of the MPs, saying it was against international practice.

“You don’t expect me to mention names. This is not done anywhere with regards to these conditions. They are in self and voluntary isolation under the supervision and advice of our medical doctor and the clerk to Parliament…You don’t go about issuing details of names and all that. We are handling a matter in a very professional manner”.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, in giving some details about the MPs involved said contrary to claims, the MPs were not being held in mandatory quarantine in a hotel in Accra.

“Those of them that the Speaker alluded to were members who attended statutory meetings on behalf of Parliament and they had these engagements outside the country. Those of them we have informed them to stay away and be in voluntary confinement. Fortunately, they all arrived before the broadcast by the president over the weekend so they have not been quarantined in hotels. They are conforming, we are told,” he said.

Coronavirus in Ghana

The novel Coronavirus cases recorded in Ghana have risen to 24.

“Twenty-three of the confirmed cases are receiving treatment in isolation and one of the cases who had an underlying chronic pulmonary condition prior to having COVID-19 died [on Saturday, March 21],” the Ghana Health Service said in an update.

The remaining 23 infected persons “are being managed in isolation, and are doing well on treatment,” the service added.

There is no geographical breakdown of the three new cases yet.

So far, most of the cases have been detected in the Greater Accra Region.

Among the confirmed cases in Ghana, 17 are Ghanaian and seven are foreign nationals from Norway, Lebanon, China, France and the UK.