7 Maidens, Princesses players receive COVID-19 treatment

The seven players of the national Under-17 and Under-20 female football teams who tested positive for coronavirus have begun receiving treatment at an isolated place in their Cape Coast camping base.

The seven, four from the Maidens and three Princesses, are all asymptomatic, thus had been confined to their rooms for treatment by the medical team.

A source close to the teams, who confirmed the situation to the Daily Graphic, said the medical teams had also been given Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to enable them to take care of the affected players.

Psychological counselling

Also, the affected players and their teammates were taken through an initial counselling process to alleviate any impact the situation could have on them.

“When the players and officials arrived, they were taken through an initial counselling process before their samples were taken for the COVID-19 test.

“This has been followed up with another counselling session for the affected persons and the rest of the team when the results were brought in.

Understandably, they were worried that testing positive would have a bad effect on them but they have been assured of what it is and hopefully, with the attention they are receiving, they will be fine,” it explained.

“Thankfully, they are asymptomatic and the affected players in particular will continue to go through psychological counselling as part of their treatment,” the source told the Daily Graphic.

Background

Last Friday, the two female national teams, made up of 30 Maidens and 29 Princesses, reported to camp to prepare towards their upcoming Women’s World Cup (WWC) qualifiers, having been given special dispensation by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo despite the ban on all contact sports.

Ahead of the camping, officials and members of the technical teams underwent a day’s training workshop on the COVID-19 safety protocols.