I was not aware of Health Minister’s coronavirus status - Pius Hadzide

Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide has disclosed that he was never aware of the Health Minister’s COVID-19 status until the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced it in a televised address to the nation.

He made this revelation in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show when he was giving updates on the Health Minister’s condition.

“I only got to know about the Health Minister’s condition when the President announced his condition in the televised address”, he said.

Host Samuel Eshun sought for clarification when he asked: “As a Deputy Minister of information, wouldn’t you have this information before the address, especially when it was prerecorded?”

Samuel Eshun furthered that before the President’s announcement, some media houses had already published the news of the Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman-Manu testing positive for COVID-19.

The Minister was, however, insistent that he only got to know of the information after the televised announcement.

Meanwhile, he confirmed that the Minister of Health was in self-isolation as he was an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient. He noted that it was not surprising that the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu contracted the COVID-19 disease.

“Recently we learnt that he had contracted the COVID-19 disease and he followed the protocols put in place. He was at the hospital. The doctors have taken care of him and he is allowed to self-isolate at home. He can be described as a frontline worker as he works with the people involved in the fight against COVID-19 and so it is not surprising that he tested positive for the disease”, he added.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in his eleventh address to the nation on Saturday, 13th June 2020 confirmed that the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu tested positive for the COVID-19 disease but was in stable condition.

“Let us also wish our hardworking Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, MP for Dormaa Central, a speedy recovery from the virus, which he contracted in the line of duty and is in stable condition”, the President said.