Upper East COVID-19 patient isolated, contact tracing begins

The 33-year-old female who tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region has been isolated while contact tracing has been initiated by the health authorities in the Region.

A statement signed by the Upper East Regional Minister,Ms Tangoba Abayage on Friday April 3,2020 and released to the media on Saturday April 04,2020 explained that the “patient has no travel history outside Ghana or contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case".

According to the statement however,the patient traveled “to the Western Region for one week and returned to Bolgatanga on March 27,2020 and on March 28,2020 she presented herself to the Upper East Regional Hospital at Bolgatanga with symptoms consistent with COVID-19”.

It further stated that samples of the patient were taken to the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research(KCCR) for laboratory confirmation.

The statement further explained that the Ghana Health Service on April 3,2020 received the laboratory feedback indicating a positive result for COVID-19 out of 20 cases investigated in the Region so far.

“The patient is in good condition and under isolation as contact tracing has been initiated to identify all close contacts"it noted.

The statement therefore entreated residents of the Region to “remain calm and that there is no need to panic".