The confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ghana have risen to 19.
The latest cases were confirmed on March 20 and are believed to be imported, according to the Ghana Health Service.
Two of the new cases were reported from the Greater Accra Region and the other in the Ashanti Region.
The latest infected persons are a 55-year-old Ghanaian woman resident of the United Kingdom who travelled to Ghana within the last two weeks; an 84-year-old Ghanaian lady also a resident of the United Kingdom who also came to Ghana within the past two weeks and a 27-year-old Chinese man who came to Ghana.
There have been 13 new cases of the novel coronavirus infection this past week.
At least three of these cases have been suspected to be community spread.
One of the five new cases is a 34-year-old woman who was a “contact of a confirmed case at [her] place of work,” according to the Ghana Health Service.
Another case is a 29-year-old woman resident of Accra with no history of travel outside Ghana.
The third of such cases is of a man, aged 53, who is a resident in Tema, who has no history of travel outside Ghana tested positive for the virus.
Globally, there have been over 255,000 cases confirmed, over 10,400 deaths and over 87,000 persons recovered.
How is the virus spread?
The virus is spread mainly between people who are in close contact with one another, ie within about 6 feet, and via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into one’s lungs.
To prevent the spread, the standard recommendations coming from the World Health Organisation and the Ghana Health Service are regular hand washing, covering one’s mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
People are also advised to avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
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