Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has announced the suspension of elective surgical cases in a bid to minimise overcrowding and forestall the spread of the new coronavirus.

“Only Emergency Surgical cases will now be taken care of,” Ghana’s biggest referral hospital said in a statement issued on Monday, March 16, 2020.

As additional measures to improve social distancing, the premier hospital will also vigorously enforce its appointment system, urging patients to visit Outpatients Departments only when it is very necessary for them to do so.

“The Hospital has also instituted pre-triage monitoring of patients coming to the various Outpatient Departments," the hospital said in the statement.

Meanwhile, all rotations or internships of students have been suspended until further notice.

Ghana has officially recorded six cases of the global pandemic as of Saturday, March 14, 2020.

To quell the spread of the disease, the state has banned all public gatherings and closed down all schools and universities.

There is more in the statement from Korle Bu below.