General News of Tuesday, 23 June 2020

Source: starrfm.com.gh

Test us for coronavirus – Chinese company workers to Gov’t

File Photo of a health worker in PPE File Photo of a health worker in PPE

Workers of Wangkang Ceramics Company limited in the Sekondi Free Zones enclave have expressed worry about the reluctance of their management to allow for their mass testing of COVID-19.

In view of their management’s alleged stance, the workers are pleading with the government to dispatch its Covid-19 medical team to the company to conduct mandatory mass testing of the workers.

The worried workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said their demand was born out of fear that some of them might be carrying the deadly virus unknowingly though they confirmed that their management provides them with some personal protective equipment at work.

The workers wondered why their management, unlike the management of other companies in Tema, where companies and factories are dense, would not want to invite government health personnel to carry out mass testing of them to know their Covid-19 status.

Some companies in Tema, for example, welcomed the government mandatory testing of their staff and the subsequent one-month closure of some companies in that area, including Sentuo Ceramics, also a Chinese company.

‘You (reporter) will agree with us (workers) that the Coronanavirus pandemic is surging in the Western Region and as workers of Wangkang ceramics, we need the government to send its health team to our company to conduct mandatory testing of us so we know our status,” one the workers noted.

The workers were emphatic that no health personnel had visited their company to test them for COVID-I9 “and our humble request to our management to get health personnel to come and test us has been rubbished.

“Seriously we are living in fear because we don’t know our status, though we go about our duties looking very healthy,” one staff lamented.

Another said: “The staff of our major competitor in Tema, Sentuo Ceramics, knows their Covid-19 status after their management allowed the mandatory testing. We want our management to do the same for us and we beg the government to help us.”

Efforts to reach Mr. Khang, the Managing Director of Wangkang Ceramics Company limited, via the telephone on the request for mass testing by his staff, were unsuccessful.