By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –

Three Ghanaians have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foreign Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has announced.

According to the minister, two of them were confirmed dead in Italy while one passed away in Denmark after being infected with the virus.

This coincides with the confirmation of five new cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria, bringing the number of cases so far to eight.

Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, who made the confirmation at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, revealed that three of the victims, including a mother and child, came from the United States of America, while the remaining two, also of American citizenship, entered through Nigeria’s land border.

Ehanire had on Tuesday confirmed a new case of the virus in Lagos, the third case in Nigeria, identified as a 30-year-old Nigerian female who returned from the United Kingdom on March 13.

According to the minister, the lady, who observed self-isolation and developed symptoms, thereby testing positive was as at Tuesday, at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

The minister said: “To protect yourselves and your families, I urge everyone to continue to take care and caution as advised. Government will do the needful to protect citizens’ health.

 

“A requirement that all persons returning from overseas should self-isolate for observation for 14-days, even if they feel well. NCDC will disseminate information on the practice.

 

“Supervised self-isolation, including testing, of persons returning from nations with community transmission of more than 1,000 cases cumulatively, for 14 days by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Port Health Services” disclosing that the Federal Government will also restrict entry to Nigeria of persons from the listed high burden countries with effect from Friday March 20, for a period of 4 weeks.”

 Coronavirus has had a huge burden on the world with global infection toll hitting 200,000 after doubling in less than two weeks.
China, Italy, Iran, Spain, and Germany have suffered the highest number of infections.
Meanwhile, Ghana recently recorded its seventh case. The Ghana Health Service has also warned of impending cases.
The Director of Public Health of the GHS, Dr. Badu Sarkodie, stated that since the pandemic is still raging on and the country does not have a robust health system more cases will be recorded.
“So while the pandemic is not over and generally our health system is not strong, potentially there is a risk we could get more cases,” he told Morning Starr host Francis Abban Wednesday.

(with additional report from ghanaweb)