Coronavirus: Pregnant woman who tested positive wasn’t in Tarkwa – Health officials

The Coronavirus team in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality in the Western region has refuted reports that the pregnant woman who tested positive for the disease in the Upper East region was in Tarkwa for a week.

According to the team, the patient rather mentioned that she had travelled to Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region, but health officials mistakenly said Tarkwa.

“…The patient travelled from Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region, not Tarkwa, to Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. Members of the COVID-19 Team hereby debunk this misleading information and comments circulating on Social Media and mistakenly alleged to by the Upper East Regional Minister,” the team noted in a statement.

The team further noted that the claim is regrettable, unfortunate, inaccurate and misleading.

“The information is inaccurate and misleading because investigation conducted as part of contacts tracing by our Rapid Response Team has revealed that the patient does not have any relative in Tarkwa, and has no such travel record from this Municipality to the Upper East Region,” the statement added.

The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council after the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in the region said that the patient returned to Bolgatanga from Tarkwa in the Western region on Friday, March 27, 2020.

But according to officials, Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality has not recorded any coronavirus case.

The results of 9 out of 14 suspected cases in the municipality, turned out negative, while the COVID-19 team says results for the other 5 are still pending.

“We entreat all residents in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality and the Western Region at large, not to entertain any fear or panic, but remain calm and adhere to the basic precautionary measures as well as those protocols proposed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic disease in the borders of our beloved nation,” the team advised.

Meanwhile, 11 persons who came into contacts with the pregnant woman have been traced and health authorities say they will be followed up for testing.

The patient in question is a 33-year-old woman, who has no history of travel outside Ghana nor contact with any of the other confirmed COVID-19 cases.