As part of stringent measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, some 1,200 persons who recently entered Ghana have been put on quarantine.

Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, said affected persons on the mandatory quarantine include Ghanaians or foreigners with a residence permit, who entered the country before the closure of the borders on the midnight of Sunday, March 23, 2020.

Speaking in Twi on Asempa FM's 'Ekosii Sen', the former Director-General of the Ghana Health Service said, all persons placed on mandatory quarantine are currently lodging in hotels.

They will be in quarantine for the next 14 days, he said.

According to him, although the move was expensive, it was necessary to prevent the importation of the virus into the country.

"It is a very difficult thing to do but we have to save the country," he added.

President Nana Akufo-Addo directed the mandatory quarantine of the travellers during his third broadcast on Ghana's protocol to fight the virus, on the evening of Saturday, March 22, 2020.

Health officials then began quarantining all passengers disembarking at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) that same night.

According to some of the travellers who spoke to JoyNews, they were not informed about the development prior to arriving in the country until they got to the arrival hall of Terminal 3.

The passengers said they were surprised to see the hall swarmed with senior government officials as well as health officers.

The 14-day quarantine at the unnamed hotels, according to Dr Nsiah Asare, "is at government's cost because we want to save everybody in this country.'

Unnecessary parallel NDC team

Commenting on a team of professionals announced by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to help government’s efforts against the spread of the virus, Dr Nsiah Asare said the opposition party was dabbling in mere gimmick.

He said the technical team put together by the opposition was unnecessary.

"What is it necessary for," he quizzed, stressing that the existing protocol put together by the state was competent.

"We should stop this politics, and politics and politics. It pains me, I become so much distressed when I see that everything in this country is politicised. If you have ideas, send it to the President, I don't believe that the opposition leaders cannot call the President or a Minister of Health," he added.

NDC’s team

Former President John Mahama announced the NDC’s technical team to collaborate with the government in combating the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the former President, the team is made up of experts from the various fields that are required to implement a national action plan on COVID-19.

“I have already announced that the NDC is committed to assisting government in this fight by availing all technical and logistical resources at our disposal. As evidence of our seriousness in that respect, we have assembled a technical team to guide our efforts and to lead the NDC’s response to the evolving situation,” Mr. Mahama said at a service held by the party to end a three-day fasting and prayer direction on behalf of the nation.

Below is the list of the members of NDC's COVID-19 response team

1. Nana Kofi Quakyi (Assitant Professor in Public Health/Specialist in Health Economics)

2. Dr. Vida Yarkong (PhD in Interdisciplinary Medicine)

3. Dr. Prosper Akanbong- Immediate Past CEO of Tamale Teaching Hospital and Physician Consultant.

4. Dr. Jehu Appiah: Senior Medical Consultant and former General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association

5. Prosper Bani- Former Minister of Interior and former Head of UNDP's Crisis Prevention and Recovery Team for Africa's.

6. Dr. Zanetor Rawlings- Medical Doctor

7. Alex Segbefia: former minister of Health

8. Mintah Akando- Ranking member on the parliamentary committee of Heath

9. Prof. Margaret Kweku- UHAS

10. Dr Jonas Asamoah- Public Health Expert, Hawa Memorial Hospital, Osiem.

11. Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh – (Communications Specialist) NCB-HQ

Coronavirus update

Three persons have died from the coronavirus in Ghana as of Monday, March 23.

The Ghana Health Service has yet to give details about the deceased but said three new cases have been recorded, bringing Ghana’s total number to 27.

In an update on its website, the Service said a total of 521 suspected cases have been tested for COVID-19 by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR).

All the remaining 25 confirmed cases are receiving treatment in isolation, the Service added.