The two suspected cases of the novel coronavirus in Ghana have tested negative at the Noguchi Memorial Institute, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Daniel Asare.
The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Wednesday isolated two foreign nationals; a Chinese and an Argentine for showing symptoms associated with the coronavirus, which has already claimed over 500 lives and infected more than 25,000 people in other parts of the world.
Addressing the media, Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Daniel Asare said: “the preliminary confirmation was negative and the next one that came, which is the actual confirmation, shows that they are negative.”
“Ghana is safe, Korle-Bu is safe, tourists coming in are safe,” he added.
The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research earlier said it will by close of day present a detailed report and results for the two suspected cases
The recent outbreak has killed 565 people and infected over 25,018.
All but one of the deaths have been in China.
The novel coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The first novel coronavirus case was first reported from Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019.
Various countries have imposed travel restrictions to a varying degree like Singapore, US and Australia which are denying entry to all foreign visitors who have recently been to China.
Africa’s first suspected case of the novel coronavirus in Africa emerged last month in the Ivory Coast.
That case also came back negative.
Ghana is one of only six countries in Africa with testing capabilities for the novel coronavirus.
WHO officials have said 24 countries, encompassing most of Africa’s population, will receive the material needed to conduct the tests by the end of the week.
Nigeria, Ghana, Madagascar and Sierra Leone received the supplies for testing just this week.
Medical teams from 15 African nations are convening in Dakar, Senegal, on Thursday for an emergency workshop on the first layer of preparedness for the virus.
