The Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has called for the isolation and quarantine of President Akufo-Addo for the mandatory 14 days after he returns to Ghana from his working visit to Europe.
He argued that this is important due to the President’s recent visit to Norway, where there is a reported case of COVID-19, popularly known as the novel coronavirus.
He further called for measures to be put in place to run the necessary checks on MPs who are currently on assignment to countries with reported cases.
“Could my honourable friends confirm whether upon arrival in the country from his European tour, his excellency the President will be quarantined? Mr. Speaker, I say so because the President of Mongolia has been quarantined for the 14-day mandatory period and Mr. Speaker, his excellency the President has visited Norway which has recorded a case of Coronavirus. It will be very helpful to get information as to when his excellency will be quarantined when he arrives in the country.”
Nigeria confirms first case of Coronavirus
His suggestion comes after Nigeria confirmed a novel coronavirus case in Lagos state.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a statement said: “the patient is clinically stable and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba.”
Since its detection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the novel coronavirus has claimed more than 2,700 lives and has infected over 80,000 people across almost 50 countries.
Nigeria was among 13 priority countries in Africa identified as being at high risk of getting the virus because of their established links or frequent travel to and from China.
The others are Ghana, Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Before the recent cases, African countries were found to be at moderate to high risk of importation of the virus and considered to have a relatively low capacity to manage the health emergency.
Currently, 40 countries in Africa are able to test for the virus.
In recent times, Italy has become Europe’s worst-hit country, with more than 600 cases of the novel coronavirus and 17 deaths.
