Ghana Goes to Sleep on Coronavirus Outbreak -Travellers from China Land KIA unchecked

Michael Alhassan, a Ghanaian PhD student studying in China has expressed shock at the absence of any screening mechanism at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for travellers from China, amidst the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus flu originating from China.

Dr. Alhassan who returned to Ghana on Sunday, January 26, 2020, from China, said nobody screened the passengers that arrived from China on his flight, this is despite the fact that countries worldwide are thoroughly screening travellers from China to avert them spreading the human-to-human deadly flue that has reportedly killed over 100 people and infected over 5,000 in less than one month.

“I did not go through any serious protocol for a country looking to protect its citizenry…the normal protocol is what we all went through…The only sensor we went through was the one before entering customs, the heat sensor and even that, the people behind it were not serious, they were chatting. I was very sad. I think our government should sit up and do something,” Dr. Alhassan was quoted on online news portal Myjoyonline.

“Nobody asked us any question. We just filled forms for the Immigration people and that was it. We also went through the normal checks that everyone was being subjected to, so I won’t be surprised if we record some of this virus here in Ghana,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu is claiming Ghana has put in place measures to fight the deadly Coronavirus in case it is detected in Ghana, but this response, alongside a statement issued by the ministry, has not allayed fears that Ghana may handle the situation characteristically handle the potential pandemic lackadaisically.

Whatsup News has also gathered that some officers at the KIA are taking up to US$100 to allow travellers from China sneak in without screening.

Meanwhile, the director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Dr Badu Sarkodie has dampened hopes for Ghanaian students locked up in the virus epicentre of Wuhan in China, saying they should not be allowed to travel to Ghana.

“If they are in the area where the virus has been detected, I will suggest we don’t permit these students to move out because that area is on lockdown in China,” Dr. Sarkodie told Starr FM.

“But if they are not at those areas then let’s use the various means including Immigration procedures and the various Health processes to deal with it so that it does not affect anyone.”

Over the weekend, health officials in Ivory Coast-a country confirmed that t a 34-year old Ivorian student based in China had travelled to the country with the deadly disease.

The unnamed woman has reportedly quickly put in isolation.

Already, countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Germany, among a growing list have reported cases suspected to be the virus.

The outbreak of the virus is barely a month now and it has raced across the world, as the epidemic disease modelling from the United States of America (USA) estimate that the disease could kill up to 30 million people within six months if it not quickly contained.

The exact number of those infected worldwide is not known, as China alone is said to have recorded over 10,000 cases. So far, conflicting reports claim some 100 have already died from the disease.