Gov't warns Ghanaians to 'put travel to China on hold' as coronavirus infections surpass SARS

Gov't warns Ghanaians to 'put travel to China on hold'

February 1, 2020 8:42 AM

The Ministry of Health is warning Ghanaians not to travel to China, following the outbreak of novel coronavirus in the Asian country.

The travel warning follows similar ones issued by countries such as the United States of America and Singapore.

The statement from the Ministry of Health comes one day after the World Health Organization declared the Wuhan coronavirus to be a global health emergency.

WHO declared the outbreak to be a global health emergency Thursday, putting the coronavirus strain — identified as 2019-nCoV — in the same category as the H1N1 flu, zika, polio and Ebola.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has risen to nearly 12,000 — surpassing the 8,099 reported cases of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) during a 2003 outbreak, according to the npr.

According to the statement issued by the health minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, “we are doing all things possible to ensure that we protect the nation against the coronavirus.”

“In light of these, there will be a National Technical Committee Coordination (NTCC) to review the resilience of our current arrangements to prevent an outbreak…,” the statement added.

China's National Health Commission says more than 102,000 people are under medical observation out of concern that they may be infected with the deadly respiratory virus.

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