UN workers in Ghana work remotely as staff tests positive for Covid-19

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Staff of the United Nations office in Ghana have been asked to work remotely as one of their colleagues tested positive for the Covid-19 (Coronavirus).

“One of the two cases of COVID-19 announced by the Government is a UN staff member who worked in one of the UN buildings up until the morning of 12 March 2020,” a statement from the UN local office said.

It added: “To ensure the safety of all staff in that building and the continuation of our work for sustainable development, the United Nations in Ghana has decided, as a precautionary measure, that staff on those premises should work from home.

“This measure is taken temporarily, and decisions are taken in coordination with the national authorities. This supports containment of COVID-19 and is in line with United Nations worldwide standard BusinessContinuity Procedures. Other staff working in other UN entities’ premises continue working in the office normally.”

“We continue working closely with global experts, governments and partners to rapidly expand scientific knowledge on this new virus, to track the spread and virulence of the virus, and to provide advice to countries and individuals on measures to protect health and prevent the spread of this outbreak. In this effort, the United Nations in Ghana stand by the Government and people of Ghana, as it has done for the past 62 years,” the statement signed by Media Officer, Cynthia Prah noted.

Norway Embassy

Meanwhile, the offices of the Norwegian Embassy in Ghana has been closed down indefinitely, after one of its staff tested positive for the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Ghana confirmed two cases of the deadly virus Thursday evening. The persons are said to have travelled from Norway and Turkey and arrived in Ghana within the last week.

One of them is a Ghanaian while the other is a Norwegian, officials confirmed on Thursday, March 12.

The Embassy on its Facebook page wrote: “We can confirm that one of our colleagues has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.”

It added that the person was in quarantine.

It said the Embassy was in close dialogue with the Ghana Health Service and routine contact tracing had commenced.

“All staff are also in quarantine, and we are fully committed to assist with containment. The Embassy is closed to the public until further notice, but staff are operating from home”, the post continued.

Ghana records first Covid-19 cases

On Thursday night, the Ghana Health Service in an emergency press conference announced that a Norwegian diplomat in Ghana and a Ghanaian from Turkey are the carriers of the coronavirus recorded in Ghana.

Sources say the Ghanaian came in from Turkey, having gone there for an assignment with an international agency while the Norwegian, appears to have returned to Ghana after helping organise President Akufo-Addo’s recent visit to the European country.

An amount of $100 million has also been committed to contain the outbreak.

Many public institutions have also initiated steps to prevent the virus from spreading.

Death toll passes 5000

More than 5,000 people have died around the world after testing positive for coronavirus, AFP reports.

Iran announced another 85 deaths today, pushing its total number of fatalities to 514 amid 11,364 confirmed cases.

The real number of cases might be even higher, as questions have been raised about authorities’ transparency.

In Italy, the number of people who had died from the virus reached 1,000 on Thursday with some 15,000 cases confirmed.

China has recorded more than 3,000 deaths and over 80,000 people as testing positive for the virus.

More than 64,000 people in the country have now recovered, according to the latest information recorded by Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Daily Mail GH