Two suspected young men who were under mandatory quarantine in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region have tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

It would be recalled that last week, a 45-year-old man who returned to Ghana from the United Kingdom was quarantined in Bongo alongside his friend and their samples were taken for testing.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, Mr Stephen Bordotsiah, the District Director of Ghana Health Services, revealed that the two persons had both tested negative for the coronavirus.

He said the persons had not shown any symptoms of the virus, however, they would still go through the 14-day mandatory quarantine to be certain before they were released.

The Director indicated that as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus, all persons travelling into the district from outside the region were mandated to be screened and undertake all the precautionary protocols while people from outside the country must go through 14 days of quarantine to ensure public safety and avoid the spread of the virus.

The District Director further clarified that another man had returned to the district from Italy, however, he was not quarantined, adding that, the man had been in Ghana since March 7, 2020.

“The following day after the press conference, we heard that an Italian had also come into one of our communities and so we followed up. When we got there, he said he had been in the country since March 7 and had passed 14 days incubation period.

“So, we checked his temperature and it was ok and he was not having any respiratory problems, so we allowed him and cautioned him in case he notices any change in him he should quickly let us know,” he added.

The District Director said though the health directorate was confronted with logistical challenges, the health professionals and all other key stakeholders were working hard to ensure that the virus did not spread into the district, and in case it does, they would be well prepared to handle it.

He urged members of the public to observe all the precautionary measures and protocols to avoid being infected with the virus and asked them to report any new arrival of persons in the district to the authorities.