Two foreign nationals, a Chinese and an Argentinian are suspected to have shown symptoms of coronavirus at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Wednesday, 5th of February 2020.
The patients who have been in Ghana for a while now have been isolated at the facility while blood samples taken have been sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), for further analysis.
The two gentlemen reportedly walked into Korle Bu after they were referred to the place from a clinic.
The Greater Accra Divisional Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association, Dr William Baah who confirmed this told Accra-based Joy TV that the Chinese left the home country for Ghana sometime in September 2019 while the Argentine, who was in Shanghai, joined the Chinese in Ghana in January.
“They’ve all developed some symptoms that fit the case definition [but] it doesn’t mean they have the disease,” he stated.
He said another round of testing is expected to be conducted on the two nationals today, Thursday, 6 February 2020.
At least 427 people have died with more than 20,000 confirmed cases around the world, most of them in China.
More than two dozen nations have reported cases but, so far, no confirmations have been made across Africa or Latin America.
Last week Tuesday, three more Asian countries – Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand – confirmed infections among citizens who had not travelled to China.
Officials say 425 people have died in China and one in Hong Kong.
One death has also been confirmed in the Philippines.
Coronaviruses are spread through air droplets expelled when an infected individual coughs or sneezes within a range of about 3 feet.
Health professionals across the world are working around the clock to find a cure for the disease.
The Greater Accra Regional and the Tema General Hospitals have been designated by the Ghanaian authorities as coronavirus management and treatment centres.