In the wake of the resurgence of the spread of coronavirus, Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Company (MODEC) and its partners have supported four health institutions in Ghana with health items worth over $600,000 in their bid to help the country win the fight against the pandemic.

In a presentation ceremony at the Ministry of Health, the delegation from MODEC gave items which included PCR Testing Equipment, Testing kits, various PPE and consumables to four COVID-19 Testing Centres/Laboratories namely the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), Takoradi Veterinary Laboratory (TVL) and National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL), Sekondi to boost their work across the country.

Receiving the items on behalf of the government the Minister of Health, Dr Okoe Boye praised COVID-19 testing centres in the country for their support in the fight against the pandemic. According to him even though the three T’s – tracing, testing and treating – were effective in the fight against COVID-19, the testing centers did not neglect Ghanaians due to inadequate supplies of PPEs. He also added that the non-compliance of the safety protocols lately in Ghana is becoming alarming.

“We have done well because our labs did not turn their backs at us. The policy of tracing, testing and treating has been very key to Ghana’s success story. The last time I checked, we had national active case count was about 514 cases. Our objective is to get to zero cases. There are folks who think the pandemic is over. There are people who still ask me; Doctor why are you still wearing masks? Fighting an infectious disease is like fighting bush fire, until the last one is extinguished, maybe the situation can get worse again. Let’s remind ourselves that we are still in this war.” He said.

Managing Director of MODEC Production Services Ghana, Theophilus Ahwireng said effective testing and tracing system has become necessary, especially after the lifting of restrictions.

“A timely and effective test and trace system is important to mitigate the transmission and spread of the novel coronavirus. This becomes increasingly imperative as the country eases restrictions and return to some levels of normal activities.” He said.

MODEC has been providing competitive floating solutions for the offshore oil and gas industry and is recognized as a leading specialist in the industry.