COVID-19: Government warns of growing workplace infections

The government is worried that a large number of the recent COVID-19 infections being recorded in the country are from workplaces.

The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Thursday, June 25, 2020, indicated that data available to the government showed that most of the new COVID-19 cases may not be from communal interaction.

“Some of the new cases that are coming are predominately coming from workplaces. While we are tempted to believe that it is coming from the general community spread, the details are suggesting that most of the significant numbers are concentrated within workplaces.”

The minister has therefore asked organizations to intensify their safety measures to stem the spread of the virus among staff members.

“We have to take the safety protocols very seriously because as I am suggesting, the data tells us that the significant number of the new cases that we are recording are coming from workplaces,” he added.

Some institutional cases 

In May 2020, over 500 workers at a Tema-based fish processing factory- Pioneer Food Cannery were infected with the virus after one worker contracted the disease.

Many Ghanaians received the information with anxiety, especially within the Tema region.

The spread at the factory garnered international attention as it was the largest number of confirmed cases within a single organization in Ghana.

Some even called for the company to be sanctioned over purported negligence and failure to put in place adequate precautionary measures.

Also, in the Eastern Region, some engineers working on the Tema to Mpakadan railway project at the AFCON camp B at Kpong tested positive for the virus.

Aside from these, some other organizations including health facilities and educational institutions have recorded cases of Coronavirus infections.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s COVID-19 case count has increased to 15,472.

459 new cases have been recorded in the country since the last update on Wednesday, June 24, 2020.

The new cases were reported in 34 districts within nine regions of the country.

Also, 352 persons have also recovered from the disease bringing the total number of recoveries to 11,433.

The death toll remains 95.

Source: citinewsroom