Ho: New laboratory for testing COVID-19 samples to start operations soon

A new laboratory at the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho is expected to begin operations next week.

This follows the detection of nine COVID-19 cases in the Volta Region.

The laboratory which is said to be ready for operations has been awaiting approval from the National Reference Laboratory and Noguchi.

In a Citi News interview, Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa said the laboratory will soon be operationalized to enhance efforts to trace contacts of the nine COVID-19 cases in the Volta Region.

“We have a very sophisticated laboratory at the University of Health and Allied Sciences. The staff have gone to Noguchi for training and we are set to start testing. Now you know that apart from cases in Noguchi, we have got two more centres on board but the next phase is to move the testing to the other regions so that they are not localized in Accra and Kumasi,” Dr. Letsa said.

Coronavirus case count in Ghana 

A total of 566 novel coronavirus cases have so far been recorded in Ghana with eight deaths and four recoveries.

The Greater Accra Region has the most cases with 452; the Ashanti Region, 49; Eastern Region, 32; Northern Region, 10; Volta Region, nine; Upper West Region, seven; Upper East Region, four; North East Region, one; Western Region, one and the Central Region with one.

Six of the nine novel coronavirus cases recorded in the Volta Region were from foreigners who illegally entered Ghana at least two weeks ago, according to local authorities.

The six were travellers from Nigeria “who had entered Ghana through unapproved routes along the Ghana-Togo border near Aflao,” the Volta Regional Coordinating Council said in a statement.

“They were apprehended and have been under mandatory quarantine for the past fourteen days,” the council noted in a statement.

The Ghana Immigration Service has already noted Ketu South and the Aflao-border stretch as an area notorious for illegal border crossings at unapproved routes since the closure of Ghana’s borders.

 

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