The Director of Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, University of Ghana (UG) has urged suspected Covid-19 patients awaiting their test results to stay home and avoid infecting their communities.

He gave the advice when he spoke with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate’s annual performance review.

Dr Kenu noted that it was worrying that rather than self-isolating, persons who had taken the Covid-19 test and were awaiting results are going about their daily activities as usual.

He explained that self-isolating while awaiting the results reduces the risk of exposure and transmission to others.

He cautioned employers and management in offices to ensure that workers suspected to be Covid-19 patients are kept away from the workplace.

“The reason why when a sample is taken we ask that the person must stay at home is that you don’t want to pass on the virus. It is the very reason why the first day that your sample is taken, you don’t have to go anywhere till you get your results. In so doing, you limit the number of persons you could have infected, it makes contact tracing easier while at the same time we are able to contain the virus within the shortest possible time,” he stressed.

He added that “can you imagine 10 people getting their samples taken, and all these 10 people are walking around, and then when they are told that they are all positive how many contacts would they have interacted with? You have to list all of them and follow up with all of them and that will be a daunting task if not impossible."

He urged laboratory technicians in charge of taking the swap samples for the Covid test to always remind their clients to stay home while awaiting their results to curb the spread.

On contact tracing and following up on positive cases, he disclosed that it was sometimes difficult to do follow-ups, as some patients failed to provide accurate information on their forms.

Dr Kenu said, “Sometimes, you don’t have the correct phone numbers of the contacts that is why we are pleading with the general public that as much as possible please provide your detailed information including your place of work and residence and all the needed information”.