Mar 26 , 2020 | Graphic Online

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is seeking financial clearance to permanently engage 2017-2018 graduate nurses to beef up the number of nurses in the country to help contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.

In his recent address to the nation, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had directed the MoH to mobilise new and retired health professionals to augment the number of frontline health workers to help deal with the impact of the disease in the country.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Alexander K. Abban, announced this at a meeting organised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to discuss how to improve on its services, in line with best practices, in the fight against the global pandemic.

He said the employment of the nurses formed part of measures by the government to enhance the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic

“We want to also ensure that there are no gaps in healthcare delivery because of inadequate nurses and midwives to attend to COVID-19 patients and ensure that the healthcare system is not disrupted,” he added.

Gratitude

The minister expressed gratitude to health professionals for their support and selfless roles in the fight against the COVID-19.

He also thanked private sector hospitals and retired health professionals for their willingness and enthusiasm to make their expertise available in the national COVID-19 response effort.

About 150 private health facilities have approached the ministry to offer voluntary service to the nation.

“In calling for people, we do not want to politicise this matter. The disease has shown that it is no respecter of political parties. This is why we are calling on anybody who can help in cash or in kind to come on board,” he added.

Mr Abban further appealed to the people to adhere to good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands regularly and also avoiding crowded places, to prevent community spread of the disease, which he said could overwhelm the nation.

National situation

As of the time of filing this story yesterday, Ghana had recorded 68 cases, including three deaths.

Sixty-six of the confirmed cases are being managed in isolation.

The sudden spike in case incidence is as a result of the mandatory quarantine and compulsory testing of all travellers entering Ghana, as directed by the President.

As of March 24, 2020, some 1,030 people were under mandatory quarantine. Samples from 863 of them were tested, out of which 38 cases were confirmed positive.

Majority of the confirmed cases are Ghanaians who returned home from affected countries, while seven are from other countries, namely, Norway, Lebanon, China and the United Kingdom.

In respect of contact tracing, 829 contacts have been identified and are being tracked.

Nineteen people have completed the 14-day mandatory follow-up.