Two suspected SARS victims arrive

Two Ghanaians, who were detained in Egypt on suspicion of contracting the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus on Wednesday returned home on board an Egypt Air Flight after being cleared by Egyptian health authorities.

Mr Moses Dani Baah, Deputy Minister of Health, said the health certificates accompanying the two Ghanaians indicated that they had not contracted SARS.

He said as a precautionary measure, however, they would be quarantined for a few more days in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) regulations.

When the plane touched down around 0730 hours, the Rapid Response Team quickly moved in and whisked the two passengers away to an undisclosed location.

The relatives of the suspects - a 37-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman - whose names were withheld, would be informed.

Last week, Ghana's Mission in Egypt informed the Ministry of Health that the two had been deported from Japan en route to Ghana, but were quarantined upon suspicion of having been infected with the SARS Virus.