Bolga residents demand for closure of Ghana's borders following confirmed cases

Correspondence from the Upper East Region - Bolgatanga

Residents of Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region have expressed concerns about how our borders are manned following an announcement by the Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman Manu Thursday.

The ministry, in a statement, confirmed two cases of the fast-spreading Coronavirus; one from a Norwegian and another from a Ghanaian visiting from Turkey.

Interacting with Ghanaweb's Upper East correspondent, Castro Senyalah, some unhappy residents who were disturbed about the situation joined in calls for the closure of the country's borders to avoid further exacerbation of the situation.

"The disease is deadly and can kill, Ghana has to protect its own by safeguarding its borders and stopping any entries to avoid more damage than there already is," a seamstress, Joyce said.

Another resident, Emmanuel was emphatic in his calls for the closure of the borders and the equipping of health facilities to properly manage the outbreak in the region.

"Now that it is in Ghana, we are praying it doesn't get us. The problem is with Ghana's borders, they always allow people to enter and pay money without ID cards. We'll have to blame them."

The government of Ghana Thursday confirmed two cases of the deadly Coronavirus – the viral disease that is gradually spreading across the globe.

COVID -19 first broke out in Wuhan-China and has since spread to other parts of the world especially Europe, killing thousands of people globally.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the rapidly spreading outbreak a pandemic, acknowledging that the virus will likely spread to all countries on the globe.

Africa, in the beginning, did not record any case of the viral disease. However, in the recent weeks, West African countries such as Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast have reported cases indicating the entry of the disease into the West African Sub-region.

Ghana Thursday, March 12, 2020, became the latest in the list of African countries who have recorded cases of the COVID-19.

The cases, according to the Minister in charge of Health Services, Kweku Agyeman-Manu, who spoke at a press briefing said the cases were confirmed by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

According to the minister, both individuals returned to Ghana – one from Norway and the other from Turkey; a Ghanaian.

He gave assurances that the government and health partners will work tirelessly to ensure the situation is contained.

Government has also announced the allocation of $ 100 million to fight the virus.