Member of the Health Committee of Parliament Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane, says while measures put in place by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service to prevent an outbreak of the Coronavirus in Ghana are in the right direction, these measures are also inadequate.

“The measures being taken by China to contain this virus show that we have done little to prepare for it. China is building a thousand-bed capacity hospital to cater for patients while we have a lot of uncompleted hospital projects here.”

The Health Ministry since the outbreak of the virus a week ago, has issued alerts and guidance information to health facilities in the 16 regions in a bid to protect the citizenry.

Enhanced surveillance at various points of entry, especially the Kotoka International Airport, has begun with passengers from China going through a thorough screening.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also activated two hotlines for parents or guardians with children or wards in Wuhan, the hot spot for the virus and its environs, to contact authorities and get first-hand information on the situation on the ground.

But touching on these measures on the floor of Parliament, Wednesday January 29, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane argued that more can be done by the various state institutions.

“I believe resources should be released to local television stations, radio stations and newspapers to carry out public education. The earlier we start with these education the better it is for all of us. Even in China, some of the patients don’t understand basic concepts like isolation, quarantine and others, so we need to educate our people to understand it, then they can practice it in the face of an outbreak.”

Since its outbreak in China, the virus has been confirmed in 16 other countries. Cases have been confirmed in Europe, North America and several Asian countries with Cote d’Ivoire being the first Africa country to record a suspected case of the virus.