Ghana strategically positioned to fight and contain coronavirus pandemic – Kwaku Gyasi

A member of the Communication Team of the New Patriotic Party, Kwaku Gyasi says despite the challenges faced by the government of Ghana in managing the coronavirus pandemic, the nation remains strategically placed to fight and contain the disease from spreading in the country.

Prior to the confirmation of a case in Ghana, a lot of questions were raised by critics and members of the opposition on government’s preparedness in preventing the virus from entering and spreading in the country.

But speaking on Asempa FM’s Eko Sii Sen days after the Ministry of Health confirmed the 7th case of the virus in the country, Mr Gyasi urged that conversations around the virus should not be politicized.

“The virus is not like some previous one that were limited to some countries and geographical areas. It is crossing borders to several countries and that is why the World Health Organization has described it as a pandemic. Even well-advanced countries have taken a hit from the virus. This virus is non-discriminatory; it doesn’t know whether you are NPP or NDC, rich or poor it doesn’t even care about your race. I will urge that when we get an opportunity to speak about this matter we do it devoid of politics because it is the whole world that has been affected. The WHO has put it on record that the world was never ready for this pandemic.”

Speaking on the government's preparedness against the virus, Kwaku Gyasi stressed that Ghana, considering the measures put in place by government is indeed strategically prepared to manage the virus from escalating in the country.

“The president on his return from Europe first visited the Kotoka International Airport to check the readiness of systems and officials and indeed everything showed that the airport was ready to manage any situation. One of the most important things in managing this virus is contact tracing and from two months ago, officials at the airport have made sure they take details of all persons coming into the country.

The two laboratories designated for testing for the virus namely Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine are categorized as number 3 category laboratories, which means that they are world-class. Noguchi in the whole of Africa is the center of referral for influenzas and such viruses. So as a country we are strategically positioned well to fight this pandemic.”

He, therefore, urged the general public to adopt practices outlined by the WHO and the Ghana Health Service including regular washing of hands, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and social distancing as a preventive measure to help protect themselves and others from the virus.

He also called on members of the opposition to desist from the scare and rumour-mongering while calling on them to fall in line with the national approach needed in fighting the virus.