COVID-19: Self-quarantine: BPA to staff

The Bui Power Authority has urged all its staff whose children attend the Ghana International School, German Swiss School and the Lincoln Community School or may have recently had contacts with UNDP and UNESCO staff in Accra to self-quarantine for 14 days.

In a memo to all its staff, the BPA said: “Our attention has been drawn to the fact that Ghana International School, German Swiss School and Lincoln Community School have been temporarily closed due to suspected cases of COVID-19.

“Similarly, UNDP and UNESCO have also been temporarily closed.

“We advise all staff whose wards attend these institutions as well as staff who have been in contact with staff of the UNDP and UNESCO to proceed to self-quarantine for a period of two weeks effective Monday, 16 March 2020”.

Meanwhile, the government of The Netherlands has shut down its embassy in Ghana following the confirmation of one case of coronavirus in the embassy of Norway which shares the same building with the embassy of The Netherlands.

In an “important public notice” posted on its social media pages, the embassy of The Netherlands said: “Following the confirmation by the Norwegian Embassy that one of its staff has tested positive for the COVID-19, and given that the Norwegian & Netherlands Embassies share the same building, the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana is closed until further notice”.

It added: "The Netherlands Embassy is in contact with the Ghana Health Service to assist with containment efforts. As a precautionary measure, staff of the embassy are working from home. The NL Embassy is closely monitoring the situation and will inform the public of any new developments".

The Norway embassy case is one of two confirmed cases in Ghana.

The other patient is Ghanaian UNDP workers in Accra who brought the disease home from Turkey.

On Friday, the Embassy of Norway in Ghana shut down its offices temporarily following the contraction of the virus by its staff.

In a statement, the Embassy of Norway said it “can confirm that one of our colleagues has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus”.

“The person is in quarantine and the Embassy is in close dialogue with Ghana Health Service”, the statement said, adding: “Routine contact-tracing has commenced”.

“All staff are also in quarantine, and we are fully committed to assist with containment.

“The Embassy is closed to the public until further notice, but staff are operating from home.

“We are thankful for the care and assistance offered by Ghana's health authorities and WHO Ghana, and also for the compassion showed.

“We urge everybody to follow the preventive measures issued by the WHO and Ghanaian authorities”, the statement added.

The Norwegian is one of two cases confirmed in Ghana. The other is a Ghanaian with the UNDP.